Castles Made of Sand
by Cersanthamum
Summary: Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood are two utterly different people. What will happen when their worlds collide? Everything that is broken, is meant to be fixed. Set in AU - Highschool. Infernal Devices/Mortal Instruments cross-over. R&R!
1. Nowhere Man

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER ONE**

_**Nowhere Man  
><strong>  
>"He's a real nowhere man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land, Making all his nowhere plans for nobody. Doesn't have a point of view,<br>Knows not where he's going to, Isn't he a bit like you and me?"  
><em>

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><p>Bright scattered light flowed through the lush champagne curtains, which were perfectly draped down the floor to ceiling windows, piercing the tan fragile skin of Magnus' eyelids. He stirred in his rest, not having any form of energy to flip himself over. He slowly raised his left arm into the air, positioning his thumb to rest against his middle finger, before snapping them together -waiting for the light to go away.<p>

But of course, no matter how much he wished to relish in sleep; to be able to snap his fingers and the light of the sun to go away; he knew that he couldn't run from the inevitable start of his day. Like clockwork, five minutes later, Olive and Sarah, his maids, flooded into the room -cleaning the mess Magnus had left, on return from his drunken stupor that night... Or morning as it was. From the smashed crystal vase that lay haphazardly against the foot of the bed, and the strewn shiny leather clothes hanging off of several pieces of furniture -Magnus was sure to be given heck. Olive drew the curtains wider, the room engulfing in burning light. Magnus shrank further into the confides of his canary yellow silk sheets, and attempted to pull his white comforter over his head, before Sarah ripped them away.

"Magnus Bane, you must'nt spend all morning in bed. Your first day of classes starts at nine." Sarah said, stepping aside to pick up his leather pants from the ground.

He truly did love Olive and Sarah; at times they were the perfect mother figures: always making the best soups and sandwiches, wrapping his wounded knee with gauze, even helping him land a few dates with the gorgeous woman from his highschool. But right now, he wanted to kick them out of his room, and if they didn't oblige, he just might have to strangle one or the both of them.

"Don't make me go." Magnus whined, and sat up hastily -which wasn't a good idea. He was instantly hit with a wave of vertigo, a hangover that wouldn't go away anytime soon. If he wasn't out partying late last night, he might have been fine enough to make it to the shower on his own, without tripping over his own feet; But last night he had been so bent on pissing his father off -he didn't even think about the consequences of the next day.

"You are going and that is final. This is what you get for being a seventeen year old partier. If you were my kid, I'd have the sense to teach you _right._" Sarah tsked him, and shook her head thoughtfully. "Now will that be Tylenol or Advil?"

"Mmm, whichever will make the pain fade away within the blink of an eye." Magnus stretched his lengthy limbs, and swung his legs around the side of his high queen bed.

"Child they don't make drugs, that strong."

"I can think of one, that starts with a W, and ends with a -"

"Magnus Bane! You better not come home with the smell of smoke on ya. I will gladly bring out my good belt, and we will see how many times you ever smoke again." Sarah wagged her finger at him warningly. Magnus stepped out of bed, and stood in front of the short, 5'2'', pudgy woman, whose hair was silken wheat, and eyes as dark as night. He bent down, and kissed her lightly on her rosey cheek.

"I wouldn't even dare try it." He made his way over to the double doors that led into his gray marble ensuite; Olive tossed him his clothes for the day before he made his final assent into the washroom.

"You better hurry up. Your father won't be happy if you're late on the first day back!" Olive called from behind him. He waved his hand in the air, dismissing her comment, and shut the doors firmly. He scanned over the outfit Olive had picked out for him: Dark black waxy jeans, a deep v-neck the color of a dark plum, and a grey partially sparkly bomber jacket. He smirked to himself, having a maid that not only cleaned up after you, but made you breakfast, _and _picked out the most amazing outfits... This was the life Magnus thought briefly.

He turned on the water in his shower to a scorching heat, the perfect temperature in his mind, and stepped out of his clothes. After minutes of vigorous exfoliating with his favorited wild berry soap, and shampooing, he stepped out of the shower, and let the beads of water fall across his tan skin. Carefully, avoiding the potential to slip, he made his way over to the sink, and starred into the steam covered mirror. Whipping it quickly, in small circle motions, he relished in what he looked like.

Hell. That's all that came to mind. Absolute hell. His cheeks seemed pulled and taught, as if he were sucking on a lemon, his eyes rimmed with deep and dark half crescent moons. Magnus' familiar cat-like, yellow-green eyes were rimmed with a fine cloud of red. He groaned, and slid into his clothes feverishly before starting on his makeup -which happened to take the bulk of his time. He made sure to use just the right amount of concealer under his eyes, and the right amount of black liquid eyeliner, to line his top lid, adverting anyones gaze away from the dark circles. The mascara came first, although he never really needed it, his eyelashes were dark and thick like his mothers; and then he finished off his look with a light brush of highlighting eyeshadow, gold glitter, and a nude glossy lipgloss.

His hair was getting way to long, and fell into his eyes way to often. He needed to remind Olive or Sarah to make him an appointment at Luziel's sometime soon. Once his hair was dry he styled it up, with the help of his gel, creating a thick faux-hawk, that left a few sweeping bangs in his face.

Magnus stepped out of the ensuite, and found a breakfast tray left on his bed, full of muffins, eggs, and bacon, along with his black marc jacobs backpack. He quickly scarfed down the eggs and bacon, and stashed the muffins into his bag, before making his way downstairs.

"Magnus! Oh don't you look dashing! Excited for your first day back?" Felicity coo-ed at the bottom of the lavish dark cherry wood steps. Felicity was his father's latest conquest, blonde, big-breasted, bubbly, young, and naive. It wouldn't be long until his father kicked her to the dirt. Used her for whatever he wanted, and then left her hanging. But for now, for his fathers sake, he put up with the charade.

"Oh, I know I look absolutely hot. There's no need to tell me." He plastered a fake smirk on his face, and hoped -no, prayed to god she wouldn't see through it. She gave him a hesitant look, and before she could reply he cut in, "I should be on my way. Don't want to be late yenno. Bye... Mon cherie." Magnus leaned over and took hold of her tiny doll hand, kissing the skin lightly. _That will leave her hopeful that I actually like her, _Magnus thought.

"Such a charmer, like your father." Felicity blushed, before rounding the corner into the kitchen. God knows what she was going to do in the kitchen; she didn't even know how to boil water, let alone cook anything; possibly she will become lost in their overly gigantic estate. It had happened to Magnus quite a few times.

He left the house quietly, not wanting to stir his fathers rest, because in two short weeks was his fathers annual banquet, that he held every year. The wealthiest families were invited, not that Magnus cared -he could care less about how much money his father had. Sure it was nice to have the luxuries he was given, the clothes, the car, the house, but he wasn't someone who enjoyed flaunting it -although that is what it usually seemed like to other people. His father forced him to drive his bright red, Noble M600, and of course vanity had always mattered when it came to presenting ones self. "Vanity, son, is the key to success." Magnus' father told him time and time again as he grew older.

Since his fathers banquet was in two weeks, he had told Magnus not to bother him from the hours of 10 p.m. till 8 p.m. the next day -that gave Magnus two hours in which he would see his father for the next few days.

Magnus sped down the block, and after a minute or two turned right onto the long, wide gravel pathway that led to Johnathan and Clary's estate. He honked three times, relentless to make it to William's house on time, so they weren't late for school. The fiery red head stuck her head out the door, and upon spotting Magnus' car, made her way over. She was dressed in what she usually wore: Plain white shimmery v-neck, long bulky orange and white bohemian shrug, and dark-washed jeans -very normal, but very _her. _The only thing that off-set her outfit, and added that extra punch of sexy-ness were the glossy red pumps that matched the color of his car.

"Hey doll face." Magnus said as Clary slipped into the passenger seat. He looked at her closely, and could faintly see the red rim around her bright green irises, and the deep purple tired skin under her eyes. "Or should I say monster..." Clary scowled at him.

"I'm not up for your comments today Mag. Sebastian's party last night was just... _too much. _I wish you and William hadn't dragged me to it." Clary sighed before continuing, "I feel like shit. So no comments please." She lightly patted his cheek, and pursed her lips.

"Dude, c'mon let's go." Johnathan bounded into the backseat of his car. Dressed in white jeans, a navy t-shirt and a shiny black blazer. His white-blonde hair swept to one side, in a very disconcerned way.

"What's the rush? Scared Camille will run off with Sebastian if we don't get there soon enough?" Magnus asked, as he turned the car around, and sped down the gravel driveway.

"Yeah, because Sebastian has more game then me." Johnathan snaked his arms across his chest, and snorted.

"Then the reason is...?" Magnus pried, as he jerked the clutch into second gear, and skidded down the road. Only a couple of blocks until they would reach William's estate.

"Word is, we have a fresh group of newbies coming in." Johnathan replied haughtily, straightening his back.

"John. Of course we do, it's a new year... So that means new grade ten's." Magnus sighed loudly, pulling into the narrow slate driveway.

"I know that! Do you think I'm stupid?" Clary and Magnus exchanged looks, before turning back to him and smirking. Johnathan's face was sullen, he looked like a kid that was denied ice cream for dessert, and a large scowl crept its way up his face. He swore under his breath and shook his head. "Whatever. But no, I meant we have three newbies, in _our _grade this year." That was a surprise to Magnus, everyone in their grade new each other since elementary; there was never anyone _new _at their private school, in their grade. It just didn't work like that.

"Oh! Are any of them guy's? I am getting quite bored playing around with the ones we have at the school." Clary thoughtfully said. Johnathan gave her a quizzical look, raising his eyebrows high on his forehead.

"That better not mean what I think it means." Johnathan sternly said.

"Don't worry about it." Clary briskly replied, and flashed a wide grin to her brother, batting her eyelashes.

"Anyways," Magnus rolled his eyes pointedly, "What's the verdict John?" He enquired, as William stepped out of his front door. Black jeans, Black button up shirt, and a Black waxy fitted dress coat, made William's dazzling blue eyes light up against the harshness of all the black -he looked absolutely gorgeous, and studly -which was not what Magnus should be thinking about.

"Some rich family from the eastern coast moved into town at the beginning of summer. I haven't seen them yet, but I'm guessing they're loser's if they've stayed home _all _summer. Two guys, one girl -Sebastian's family knows them or something, but he hasn't seen them since he was younger."

"Mmm, what are we talking about?" William's delicate and suede voice vibrated around the car, making the hairs on Magnus' neck prickle.

"Newbies, that we will have either the fortunate or unfortunate chance of meeting." Magnus replied, before he sped off.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you liked it! I've been nervous to post this, because I admit that I may not be the best writer... But I am hoping that with your reviews and feedback that I can continue to get better! (So feel free to do so :]) For now the rating is T, but in the near future (not too, too near, because I plan on making this a 40-50 chapter story), the rating will change to M, because of Lemons, Smut, and all the Jazz.  
>Stay tuned! I should have the next chapter ready to go, very soon.<br>**


	2. Penny Lane

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWO**

_**Penny Lane  
><strong>  
>"Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes, There beneath the blue suburban skies<br>I sit, and meanwhile back."_

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><p>Alec woke up to bright beams of light the flowed freely throughout his new room. He stretched his back, listening to the cracking sounds as all the tension released from his muscles; and then shot out of bed, not wanting to waste the little, precious time he had to get ready, before his first day at Mount Western Prep. Private Academy. On the outside, to his family, he acted calm and collected, fearless of what the new school -essentially new life would bring him once he set forth into the academy. But on the inside he was shaking, nervous, and about to pass out or possible retch all over the deep chocolate hardwood floors. He wished his mother wouldn't have taken the job offer, by Valentine Morgenstern, that led their family to this new house, in the first place.<p>

Back home on the east coast, he was able to freely take his surfboard, run down to the beach, and let the waves take him, almost everyday -but _here, _all he could do was walk through the deep, dark woods that appeared endless to him. He missed the calm sounds of the ocean, and the way the light of the sun reflected across the top in beautiful patterns; and now he was subjected to listen to the quiet calms of rustling leaves, and birds singing through the woods out back. Their estate stretched for miles on end, and Alec didn't even understand which way would lead him to civilization, although the probable answer would be _down, _seeing as they lived on a hilltop. Possibly though, none of that mattered, as long as he had Jace and Isabelle by his side, everything would be fine; they had made it through summer alone and together just dandy.

Isabelle burst into his room, the strong smell of fried bacon wafted into the space around them; and Alec prayed that Isabelle didn't cook it. She was never good at cooking, no matter how much they all had to pretend to like it sometimes when she insisted on making her 'special soup'. There was no convincing.

"Aren't you just so excited!" Isabelle jumped onto his bed, her eyes huge and dark. The rollers -Alec assumed -bounced out of place on top of her head, letting loose a couple of free ink black strands, that tumbled over her smooth ivory forehead. "If you ask me, I'm pretty excited. I mean, new school, new classes, new _boys_." Her face beamed at the word 'boy', making Alec shake his head. Isabelle had always been the type of girl to move from guy, to guy -never in his life, did he see her without a boyfriend for more then two weeks. The fact that she was already worrying about boys, irked him. He was the territorial and protective big brother, and any guy that attempted to 'woo' her, had to go through him. No exceptions. Isabelle was a pretty girl, with large dark eyes, perfectly sculpted dark eyelashes, a cupids bow that was deep and defined, and ink black hair. She was a pretty girl, that could be taken advantage of; who let others take advantage of her, and he hated that fact.

"Yes Iz, I'm excited. Now if you'll excuse me," Alec stalked his way over to his large ebony dresser, "I need to get ready." Isabelle turned on her toes like a ballerina, and fled the room quickly and soundlessly, leaving Alec alone with his thoughts. He began to shuffle through his drawers, not all to sure what he should wear, and then hating himself for even caring. This was school, and there would be no one there he truly wanted to impress. If someone liked him for his plain grey and or black t-shirts, dark blue jeans, and Levi's, well then _that_ person deserved his attention; but he doubted he would find that person.

There was the sound of thumping hands on his door frame, as he pulled his head through the hole in the top of his t-shirt. Jace, stood there with a tight white shirt, silver chain, and light washed jeans on, his golden hair still wet curls, that stuck to the sides of his face. He whistled as Alec began to lace up his Levi's. "Well, isn't someone pretty?"

"Jace, shut up, and get out." Alec blankly looked up at him, gulping back the uncertainty of Jace's presence that seemed to do quite a number on Alec's being.

"What? Is my gorgeousness making you faint?" Jace laughed loudly, snaking his arms over his large ample chest.

"Hardly. It's actually making me want to puke. Go look in a mirror or something." Alec waved his hand to shoo him away, but knew without a doubt, that, wouldn't work. Alec finished lacing his Levi's, and began to prepare his bag for the day. His class schedule was terrible: English, History, Math, then Biology -that was another thing to add to his list of 'Reasons why I hate my life'. He noticed that Jace still stood in his door frame, pulling at a loose thread on his white shirt. "Are you going to stand there forever?"

"Only if you want me to." Jace gave him a sultry wink. Alec sighed, and ran his fingers throughout his charcoal hair.

"Stop being a douche bag, and tell me what you came here for."

"Mom has breakfast almost ready, and wanted to know how you wanted your eggs." Jace shrugged, looking uninterested.

"I don't want any, just tell her I only want bacon."

"Mkay, whatever you want sweet cheeks." Alec blushed, and thankfully, at the same time that Jace turned on point, and left the room. Alec ran to the bathroom, across the hall, and splashed cold water on his face, not liking the feeling, having Jace in the same room as him, gave him -but not entirely hating it either. He felt a sudden rush of heat course throughout his body whenever alone with Jace, and the rhythmical beat of his heart increased to an alarming rate, pounding against his chest. _Snap out of it, _Alec said to himself, _he's your brother._ He never fully understood how he could feel this way, about a guy, especially when that guy was his brother; but it just happened one day, and since that day he has been hiding behind an intricate web of lies to keep his feelings a secret._  
><em>  
>After a few minutes of checking over his room, making sure that he wasn't forgetting anything, Alec made his way to the grand yellow kitchen, that literally laid in the heart of the home. Isabelle, who was wearing a barely there peach toned dress, and sheer tights, was resting her forearms on the counter top, talking to their mother, Maryse, about what the day might entail for them all. Alec could tell Maryse didn't approve of Isabelle's choice of outfit, but she didn't say anything; knowing Isabelle would find a way somehow to sneak out like that anyways. Their mother rarely ever 'controlled' them. Ever since the accident, she began to take things in strides: everyday was a new day to be thankful for, in her mind, and why spoil that by getting into a confrontation that would only lead to hurt feelings, and bruised egos.<p>

Jace was stuffing his face full of food, practically inhaling it, and then gulping down a large cup of mango juice. Maryse peered over to the doorway that Alec stood awkwardly in and gave him a coy smile. "I trust you slept well?" She said assertively, although her expression was the complete opposite. That's how his mother was, and he liked that about her. Being able to firmly stand her ground, without breaking her submissive and coy demeanour. Now... Only if Alec had been blessed with those genes...

"Yep, sure did." Alec sauntered his way to her side, and pecked her lightly on the cheek, before grabbing a handful of bacon off of the dish laid out on the island counter top.

"Are you as excited as your sister is?" Maryse shook her head and laughed, raising a red mug of coffee to her pink stained lips. She was clad in a grey structured suit, with a light aqua silk shirt underneath. Today must have been her first day at the office.

"Mom, I don't think anyone would have the capability to be as excited as _her,_" he swung his head around and gave Isabelle a mocking smile. "You guy's ready or what?" Alec asked Isabelle and Jace in between mouthfuls of bacon. Jace gave a thumbs up, as he finished off another glass of mango juice, and Isabelle wiped the corner's of her mouth before smiling and snatching the keys to the Jeep Sahara, off the marble counter top, before Alec had the chance of taking them himself.

"I'm driving!" She beamed brightly, running into the hall, and out the front door. Alec glanced back at Jace, and they both hesitated for a moment, starring each other down...

They both yelled "SHOT GUN!" At the same time, before racing one another out of the house.

Half an hour later, the Lightwood kids, Alec, Isabelle, and Jace, finally made their way to the school. The parking lot and fine green courtyard were sparsely empty -due to the fact they were late, and it was all Isabelle's fault. Another thing she wasn't good at: directions. They ended up circling around the town a couple of times, before Jace insisted on taking over.

"Well I have P.E first block, catch you guys later!" Jace called, as he fell into a sprint towards the large dome shaped building that said 'Physical Education' across it, in the schools colors: Red, White and Gold. Isabelle and Alec made their way into the halls of the grand entrance; the inside and outside resembled the look and atmosphere of old Victorian mansions, with carefully crafted sculptures that lined the walls. The lockers were a pristine white lacquer, reaching the top of Alec's height -which was extraordinary for him. Being insanely tall, had some perks, and likewise downfalls. The floors were a dark marble material, that was waxy enough to reflect even the smallest form of light. School bulletin posters were sparsely pinned to the walls, most reading: 'Elective Campaign starts, October 1', 'Homecoming! Get your tickets now!', and various sport clubs sign ups. They only poster that stood out for Alec was the soccer one, seeing as that was the only sport he could play.

"I think my class is down that hall," Isabelle spun, and pointed down the west hall, that was brightly lit by skylights overhead, "do you think you'll make it to class okay?" Isabelle said mockingly, before patting Alec on the shoulder.

"Yes, I don't need to be babied Iz." Alec swatted her hand away, and hiked his backpack higher on his left shoulder. She gave him a loving smile, before skipping her way down the west hallway, and turning around a corner to the right; her black inky waves followed graciously behind. Alec reached into his bag, and found his class list and map; the school was huge, and likely he wouldn't make it in time to his first class: English. But there was no point in not trying.

"Hey, are you lost?" A small voice came from behind him, which nearly startled Alec to death. He swung around, and stood face to face with a normal looking teenaged guy: Brown scruffy hair, chocolate eyes that were blocked by a set of reading glasses, and a t-shirt that said 'How do you like d'em apples?', with a picture of Isaac Newton on the front. He had an honest, trustworthy face, and small thin pink lips.

"Uh... yeah, I guess I am." Alec shrugged.

"I can help you out with that," the guy snatched Alec's class list from his hands, and gave the snow white piece of paper a quick look over, "Oh dude, you have English with the Shadows." The guy returned the paper, shaking his head as if the news he was just given told of an uncertain death.

"The Shadows?" Alec asked earnestly, furrowing his eyebrows tightly together.

"The snotty kids that live on the hills. They're the rich ones that don't need a scholarship to come here. Usually they opt. out to take English first block, so they can chill and or sleep -it's a pretty laid back class." He nonchalantly said, "unless you get on Ms.G's bad side, then you're screwed."

"Why are they called the Shadows?" Alec felt stupid for having to ask questions. It was obvious enough that this guy, that he didn't even know the name of, didn't want to spend his morning in the hall trying to navigate and explain for Alec.

"Because they're everywhere." The guy shrugged. "So do you want me to take you there or not?" Alec nodded his head, as they fell into step beside each other. The farther they went down the hall, the more anxious Alec got. His hands were suddenly clammy and hot, a feeling he hated, and his heart picked up its pace tenfold. "A peace of advice: Stay away from the guy that's tall, black hair, blue eyes, and the other guy with the cat eyes. If you see a girl with bright red hair, tell her to meet me at the band room during lunch -she's probably the only nice one, and my best friend, Clary. You two might get along."

"So, stay away from the kid who resembles me, and the cat kid? But go for the ginger?"

"Watch what you say around her, that one is very assertive and determined. She won't take the comment 'ginger' lightly." The guy stopped abruptly in front of a bright orange classroom door. "Well this is it, good luck dude." He said, and turned away to strut the hall in the opposite direction.

"Thank you -?" Alec called after him, wondering what his name was.

"Simon!" He yelled over his shoulder; the frame of his slender body fading into another hall... Leaving Alec alone. _Well, here goes nothing. _Alec thought before grasping the brass handle of the door.

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><p><em><em>**A/N: I am so happy even for the little amount of reviews I got, truly! It does give me the drive to continue to write this story (: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I have decided that it will probably flip back and forth between Magnus' and Alec's perspectives -but once in awhile it might have Alec's perspective for multiple chapters. (You'll be able to clearly tell who it is). The next chapter should be up in the next two days... sorry if that might be a somewhat long wait, but I need to catch up on a few things that are going on in my life at a moment.  
>Stay tuned for more!<strong>

**Amber, **


	3. In spite of all the danger

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THREE**

_**Inspite of all the danger  
><strong>  
>"In spite of all the heartache, that you may cause me, I'll do anything for you, anything you want me to,<br>if you'll be true to me."_

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><p>"And, if Shakespeare was not clear enough in his message to you; I will gladly explain: False face must hide what the false heart doth know, meaning -" The classroom door creaked opened, interrupting Ms. Garymark mid speech, and from the position of Magnus' seat at the back, he couldn't see clearly who it was. Not to mention the fact that he had his head down, attempting to drown everyone around him out. He still had a massive headache, that made the veins in his temples throb, and his heart pump blood unsteadily throughout his body making him feel weak and sick. Magnus sat in between William, and Clary, and Johnathan one spot behind him; he was surrounded by his friends -however the seat directly in front of him was the only empty desk left in the class, and whoever happened to stumble in just now would likely take that spot.<p>

"Hello, and you are?" Ms. Graymark enquired, fixing her pristine reading glasses on the bridge of her nose.

"Alec. Alec Lightwood." The person sheepishly said. The deep tremors of his voice sent a jolt of heat up Magnus' spine.

"See, I told you there were new kids -that's one of them." Johnathan leaned forward to whisper in his ear. Magnus was slumped over in his seat, his long slender legs stretched out under his desk and the one in front of him. He still was unable to see who this 'Alec Lightwood' person was, and didn't really care to. Johnathan had said the newbies were probably losers, and that was how it would stay in Magnus' mind for now.

Ms. Graymark returned to her desk, and shuffled through a few loose papers atop her desk, before pulling out a white sheet, and a blue one underneath. "Ah, yes, Alexander Gideon Lightwood," she read off of the white sheet, "nice to meet you. Why don't you take a seat back there in that empty desk; and take this blue slip with you, I'll be seeing you at lunch where you can make up the missed time." The class began to do their traditional 'Ooo's' and 'Aaah's', as the kid made his way over to Magnus' row. His shoes shuffling along the marble floors. By now Magnus had his head trapped between both of his forearms, not even bothering to make any notion in welcoming the supposed _Alec _or _Alexander_. He much rather liked Alexander instead of Alec to be frank, it rolled off the tongue with a delicious purr. There would be no point to make a new acquaintance this late in the game, Magnus decided -he had his core group of friends, and that was more than enough to support his outlandish semi-fake ego.

He heard the slight squeak of the desk in front of him, and remained in his spot, with his forehead resting between his forearms, trapping his mind inside a world that didn't spin. Ms. Graymark resumed her rambling of Shakespeare, which was always a bore for Magnus -he had nearly read all of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets when he was younger, memorizing them by heart. And hearing her reteach them was unsettling. He took to the words spoken by Shylock, Macbeth, and Hamlet, as if they were the only language he could understand. But of course, none of his friends knew that about him; if he were to tell them, he just might possibly be mocked into oblivion.

There was a light tap on his elbow, startling him from his serene escape at first. The finger that tapped him was warm and sweaty. He lifted his head hastily, and opened his cat-like eyes just as sharply -meeting the gaze of the beautifulest and deepest lake blue eyes he had ever seen. Alexander or Alec, Magnus assumed, was attempting to say something to him, but somehow was speechless, his mouth left agape, and those baby blue's widening with anxiety.

"Yes?" Magnus sat up straighter, trying to regain his breath, that he didn't know he lost just a second ago. Alec looked at him dumb struck, and Magnus took that moment to scan his eyes over Alec's frame. Dark charcoal hair laid lazily on top of his head, as if he had woken up like that but somehow it looked nice; and his cheeks the color of pink roses, against the paleness of his clear milk and honey skin. He was wearing a loose fitting grey t-shirt, dark blue jeans that were distressed at the knees, and white Levi's. After Magnus took his quick once-over, he returned his cat eyes to Alec's, his heart skipped briefly, a feeling Magnus didn't understand.

"Uh..." Alec piped out, turning back to his backpack, and revealing their English textbook. "Do you know what page we're on?"

"Alexander is it?" Magnus tilted his head to the side.

"Alec." He replied quickly, as if it were second nature to state his name.

"I like Alexander better. So let's go with that." Magnus gave Alec a half-hearted smile.

"I rather you call me Alec. Everyone and anyone calls me Alec," Alec impatiently implied.

"Well _Alec, _I'm not just anyone."

"That's nice to know," Alec muttered, turning his head to the side, "now can you tell me the page number?"

"You just moved into town, yes?" Magnus asked earnestly, completely disregarding Alec's previous question.

"Mag, stop pestering the guy." Clary leaned over, and swung her fiery red curls back across her shoulder. Revealing a snippet of pale bare freckled skin between her neck and shoulder. "Clary Morgenstern." She outstretched her hand towards Alec, and he took it kindly; his eyes dancing with unknown recognition. "It's page 27 by the way, we just started on Macbeth."

"Oh, seriously?" Alec asked his eyes brightening two shades lighter. Magnus had no idea why he even kept himself gazing at Alec for too long; this wasn't like him. By now he would have no need for the conversation, and would have gladly backed out of it, keeping to himself.

"Yeah, why? You hate it to?" Clary leaned forward in her desk again, trying not to cause so much disturbance in Ms. Graymark's class, by now whispering closely -a little bit too closely to Alec. Magnus could tell that she had another motive for pushing herself forward; if Magnus was speaking as a completely objective third party observer with absolutely no personal interest in the matter, Alec was hot, gorgeous, beautiful, etc. It would take a fool not to realise Clary was intentionally trying to push out her chest at him, to get him to notice her, and possibly take a fond liking to her -but yet, Alec paid no attention, and kept his eyes trained on her face. "No, it's one of my favourites actually. Next to Othello and Midsummer's night dream." Alec shrugged nonchalantly.

"Ugh, seriously? Midsummer's night dream? That has got to be the least relevant one, faeries going around, changing men's heads into horses. Completely unrealistic." Magnus sighed, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I happen to like the fantasy that is incorporated in it, unlike some plays, such as Hamlet. 'To be, or not to be?' that is_, the dumbest question_. Easily from the beginning he could have told the king of his certain death." Alec looked at Magnus pointedly a glint in his eye.

"You seem to have terrible taste in Shakesperian plays, although we do have the love for Othello in common." Magnus admitted.

"Woah Magnus, didn't know you knew Shakespeare." Johnathan cut in, apparently having eavesdropped on their conversation. Magnus perked his ears up at Johnathan's statement, suddenly realizing he let all of the talk about Shakespeare slip from his mouth like word vomit, and was about to protest, before Johnathan continued. "New kid, where's the rest of ya?" Johnathan tilted his chin up suggestively.

"Umm..." Alec's cheeks flamed crimson. Obviously he wasn't comfortable with the type of attention he seemed to be gaining by the minute. Magnus couldn't help but smile at the anxiety that flooded Alec's eyes; only because the anxiety seemed to change the color into a light lake water hue that Magnus wanted to become submerged in. "My sister has Home economics, and my brother has gym." Magnus noticed the slight resistance Alec had when he said brother -and wondered what that was about.

"Is your sister hot?" Johnathan leaned onto his elbows, bringing his face closer and closer to Alec, over Magnus' shoulder. Poor guy, he must have felt trapped by Johnathan and Clary starring him down.

"John, would you ever answer that question if someone asked you?" Magnus swung his head at him, giving him his best dubious glower.

"No..." He shook his head, and pursed his lips.

"Then don't make him answer that -"

"Hey beauty." Sebastian sauntered his way suddenly down the aisle, dressed in black jeans, and a deep cut orange tank. His curly black hair swept over his broad tan shoulders. He bent down and gave Clary a quick sloppy kiss on the lips, despite her protests. She shoved him away harshly.

"Ew, Sebastian. Don't _ever _do that again."

"Funny. That's the exact opposite thing you were saying last night." Clary fumed with rage, her pale freckled skin turning a bright red tomato tone. Sometime during the midst of their brief conversation had stepped out of the room. _No wonder Sebastian was allowed to enter the room, unopressed. _Johnathan's eyes lit up and danced with hatred at Sebastian's comment, but he knew better then to pick a fight with Sebastian. There had been past infractions between the two, that led to bloody knuckles, and Johnathan screaming mercy on the court yard ground. Sebastian gazed around the room quickly, realizing that his spot was now occupied by Alec. Magnus was partially frightened as to what unsuspecting cruelty Sebastian would unleash on Alec; but what did it matter really? Magnus and Alec weren't friends, and you only stuck up for your friends right? "Yo, Alec! It's nice to see your mug here in class."

That shocked Magnus. He was definitely not expecting the partial hospitality Sebastian was bestowing on Alec. But then he vaguely remembered Johnathan mentioning that Sebastian somehow knew the Lightwood family...

"Hey," Alec stood up, and clapped his hand into Sebastian's and gave one of those man-hugs, were you pulled each other in, and then slapped one anothers backs, "It's nice to see a familiar face, even if it is _yours._" Alec jockingly said. Sebastian returned his comment with a smile.

"Where's Izzy? Not in this class, huh?"

"So her name is Izzy..." Johnathan muttered to himself, still hovering close to Magnus shoulder, making a mental note.

"You _know _this kid?" William's voice flowed through the group like ice. Magnus had completely forgotten he was there for a moment, being occupied by the sight of Alexander Lightwood. The small innocent smile that Alec downed slowly started to creep away, as he began to bite his lower lip. Hot sparks shot through Magnus veins at that tiny quirk, creating an unsettling feeling to hang low over his wide shoulders.

"His mom is my mom's sister." Sebastian shrugged, and sat down on the edge of Clary's desk. "Yenno, Marian Trueblood, Maryse Trueblood... It sort of fits doesn't it?" Sebastian mocked.

"Ah, so you, are a rich kid. I would have guessed you came here on a scholarship, just by the way you look." William lowered then raised his eyes over Alec's frame, slowly but surely. A look of disgust and disdain was held in his blue gaze. "No offence or anything."

"I-" Alec began, but a split second afterwards the class bell rang, and everyone scooped up their books, shoved papers into bags, and scurried out of class. Before Alec had the chance to pick up his English textbook, William walked over and bluntly knocked it off his desk. _What are we in grade two? _Magnus thought to himself, and seemingly he felt enraged by William's blatant actions that were uncalled for -he had never gotten upset with William before.

Magnus leaned over, and grabbed the book from the ground, dusting it off lightly with the palm of his tan hand. Alec and him were the last ones left in the classroom, as everyone else shuffled hastily out of the room. "Here," Magnus held the book out.

"You didn't need to pick it up for me." Alec snatched it, and threw it into his bag. His tone was filled with opium, definitely not the reaction Magnus was pinning for -he had hoped his gesture would convey the message of: I'm not a douche bag like William, but Alec was making him feel as if he was. Maybe it was the way he held his chin slightly higher then everyone else, or how he was dressed exactly like the rest of them, therefore grouping himself with the douche bags; or 'Shadows' like everyone else called them.

"My, my. I would've left it on the ground if that would've made you happier. Remind me to never help you again." Magnus shoved passed him, heading towards the bright orange door, and into the hall where William was waiting for him. He was leaning against the locker closest to the door, his arms folded against his muscled chest.

"I don't like that kid." William haughtily said.

"It doesn't matter. I don't suspect he will want anything to do with us, anytime soon."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the wait. I've been extremley busy with a whole bunch of art projects that I needed to finish for class. (I know it's a terrible excuse.. forgive me!) So this is the first time that they met, and I hope I did it justice.  
>I also wanted to ask you guys, if you wanted some other story lines in there? I have a few that can be incorporated in, such as Jace + Clary, Isabelle + (somewhat of a suprise), and Isabelle + Simon. BUT... I won't know if anyone would like those pairings in the story, without some reviews!<br>So yenno, feel free to hit that _review this chapter _button at the bottom, and let me know (:  
>Next chapter should take one - two days! (because im trying to edit it still, while writing future chapters. Multitasking is a terrible habit to aquire.)<strong>

**Amber,**


	4. A Taste of Honey

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER FOUR**

_**A Taste of Honey  
><strong>  
>"I will return, yes I will return,<br>__I'll come back for the honey and you."_

* * *

><p>Alec slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead as Magnus, he assumed since the guy behind him had mentioned that name, left the room. What had he done? Hadn't Simon told him to stay away from the cat-eyes kid? Seeing as Alec unsuspectingly walked head first into that trap, he could only blame himself. He wanted to know a simple page number, and ended up having the other person he was supposed to avoid knock his book from his desk -purposefully by the end of class.<p>

When Magnus had sharply lifted his head, Alec was instantly stunned and caught off guard by the most piercing yellow-green eyes he had ever seen. They almost appeared fake; too glossy and yellow to be real. Those eyes blazed like an uncontrollable flame of confidence, and struck Alec to the core, cutting off his voice and right mind; not to stare. Alec had hit that one on the nail too; what did Magnus think of him? Did he think Alec was some weird kid that kept sneaking a quick glance at him just to take a closer look at those eyes? Better yet, why did Alec even care? If anything he would make sure not to be late for tomorrows class, so he could snag a seat in the front away from _them.  
><em>  
>Clary seemed okay, however he knew she was playing herself up trying to show Alec that she was interested... But he wasn't interested in her. For whatever reason he couldn't comprehend, because she was pretty; her red flowing curls framed her heart shaped face perfectly, that was littered with thousands of freckles, and her eyes were the color of emeralds. Alec had dated girls in the past, but the relationships never lasted that long. For him, he believed in meeting that one person that would change everything for him, and once he found that person he would obviously give up looking for the latter. He had yet to have that experience, and to be frank, he didn't count on it happening anytime soon.<p>

The only good thing about the class was having Sebastian's presence. Although they hadn't seen one another for a couple of years, Sebastian hadn't changed all that much, and gladly welcomed him in -which was a surprise, Alec had to admit. Seeing as though Sebastian hung out with that group, he would've guessed for him to give Alec the cold shoulder; being the new guy and all. And that guy, that was sitting behind Magnus with white-blonde hair, didn't appear to be that horrible, he easily asked Alec questions as if they knew each other which was a relief -even if Alec clammed up like the nervous anxious guy he was, and was unable to reply before Magnus butt in.

Alec would have been fine with sitting at the back in all honesty, had it not been for the guy that was dressed in all black structured clothes, black sweeping hair that fell shapely around his face, and blue eyes that shown like river water at twilight. He made Alec want to run away and hide; the callous glower he bored into Alec, caused him to freeze, and want to slip away quietly -as far away as he could get. It was decided in that moment, that he was not to venture to the back of the English room again.

The second bell rang frantically overhead, and Alec cursed himself for getting so lost within his thoughts. History class was next, and all he wanted to do was go home. Not to mention the fact that he had no idea where he was going, and would most likely get his second blue slip of the day; but it was worth a try. Most people would give up by now, but ever since he was a child, his father Robert would tell him, Jace, Isabelle, and Max, that giving up was the equivalent to accepting your failure -and their family were not failures. It was what their family was essentially known by: their relentless nature to back down. However in Alec's case, their family mantra always conflicted with his timid nature.

He walked down the crowded halls, trying to navigate where he was going by the tiny school map that he held in his large hands. "Hey there, Alec right?" Clary nudged him playfully in the arm, as she swept up to him and began to walk beside him. He hadn't realized how tiny she actually was, until now. Alec being 6'1'', towered high above Clary's petite 5'3'' stature. But even though she was miniature compared to him, she gave him the feeling that _he_ should be scared of _her_.

"Yeah," he gingerly said, and gave her a half hearted smile.

"Where are you headed to? Maybe we have classes together." She cheerfully said. Alec was about to respond when a hand clamped down on his shoulder roughly, causing him to stagger backwards.

"Hey, how was first block?" It was Jace. His voice was unmistakeably unique, in the way his tone conveyed the utmost confidence and cockiness. "And who is this, short glass of cherry lemonade?" Jace came to stand beside Alec, and pointed to Clary, whose green eyes were gliding back and forth between the two boys, drinking in their appearances. Alec rolled his eyes.

"Jace, this is Clary. Clary, this is Jace." Alec flatly said, not interested in introductions -more so on getting to class.

"Wow Alec, I didn't know you could work this fast." Jace whistled and shook his golden hair earnestly.

"What?" Alec spun to face Jace. "You think... Oh no, we're just friends." He tried to deny any connection between himself and Clary; even if he didn't know why. Alec could see from the corner of his vision that Clary was now pouting instead of smiling.

"Good," Jace beamed brightly, and wrapped his arm around Clary's shoulder. Even if Jace wasn't as tall as Alec, Clary still looked like a doll in comparison to him. "Then you don't mind me stealing her away from you," Clary looked up to him dubiously. A dumb semi-star struck look was plastered across her pretty features. Alec thought momentarily that, that was the reaction everyone who had first met Jace would have -he was all golden, and bronze beauty; nothing about him made him un-irresistible -that is if you glanced over his major ego that he enjoyed flaunting. "Just for the day Clare."

"Clary," she interjected.

"Whatever you say." He gave her a wide grin, that revealed his pearly white teeth. Only Alec would notice the small chip in his left incisor, but Clary being dumbstruck by this lion of a man, would probably never notice. They began to walk towards the main entrance together, leaving Alec in the middle of a swarm of oncoming people alone. He felt jealous, and enraged; his stomach dropped between his knees. He quickly shook his head, trying to release the tension that had built within him. He was about to tell Clary about meeting Simon in the band room at lunch, but didn't feel it was all the important to call after her in the hallway full of people, and in turn embarrass himself. Turning back to his little map, he took the halls in long lengthy strides and eventually found his way to History.

By the end of the day Alec felt exhausted and spent. Apparently Ms. Graymark's form of 'making up missed time' was wiping down all of the boards on the north side of the building, and then continuing to mop down the floors. It was vigorous work that Alec hadn't paced himself at; hoping to be released from his duties, and go find Jace and Isabelle during lunch. But every time he had finished his tasks, Ms. Graymark gave him a fresh batch of new ones to endure. On top of that, finding his way to math was far from a walk in the park. Who knew the school had four levels? He sure as hell didn't.

Now Alec was headed to his Biology class, the last block of the day -with time left to spare. He took it upon himself to study the map of the school and where each and every one of his classes were located during the class previous.

He walked into Biology class, seeing no familiar faces -which was a good thing. Because it turned out that Johnathan and William had Math with him, and Clary who had been late getting to class with her hair looking as if she ran through a steam blower, was in his History. This was finally the only class he didn't have with either one of them, and Alec breathed a large sigh of relief.

He found himself a lab bench close to the far right back corner, that was nestled in between a large window, and sleek black counter tops that ran the length and width of the room. The second bell rang, and everyone had settled into their spots -leaving Alec to himself. Which was a good thing, he usually did better in his studies when kept alone. _This class is going to be a breeze, _Alec thought just before, _he_, walked into the room.

Magnus swayed in, his hips rocking from side to side with every step. Not paying any attention to the teachers protests about being late. Many of the girls in the class devoured Magnus' image, swooning and beckoning him over with their eyes. He wasn't wearing the grey bomber jacket anymore, but instead only his dark black waxy jeans that hugged him in _all _the right places, and a deep plum t-shirt that showed off just how lean his body was. Alec ducked his head down, praying Magnus would not see it fit to sit next to him. Which he was betting he wouldn't, but with Alec's luck the opposite was bound to happen.

"Hello, _Alexander._" The sound of Magnus' voice sent harsh tremors throughout Alec's body. And the mere fact that he had called him by his first name heightened those tremors, causing his body to tremble. He hated when people used Alexander, instead of Alec... But he would never admit to anyone that the way Magnus said it was more then acceptable in his mind. Alec lifted his head slowly, meeting the harsh blaze of those yellow-green eyes. He sucked in a breath sharply, trying to calm his nerves, but nothing seemed to be working. "Is this seat taken?"

"No, but why don't you go sit over there," Alec pointed to an empty seat beside a dark skinned girl, with fluffy brown hair, who hadn't taken her hazel eyes off of Magnus since he walked in, "I'm sure she would love for you to." He hadn't meant to sound so rude, but at the moment he couldn't help it.

"Oh? And you wouldn't love for me to sit by you either?" A smile tugged at Magnus' full lush lips.

"No-Yes... Well, I don't know." Alec stuttered briefly, and felt heat crawl up his cheeks. Magnus stood there starring at the now partially flustered Alec, his smile widening immensely. Alec tugged at the collar of his shirt, wondering when the heat in the room had suddenly turned to full blast. "Don't just stand there, sit down if you're going to." He gestured to the aqua green stool beside his. Magnus took it gladly, and flipped open his bag, as a small black journal encrusted in gold around the edges fell to the ground. Alec being a slight overly generous person -due to his grandmother -reached for it, and held it out to Magnus.

"You have a diary?" Alec just about laughed at the thought, but held it in not wanting to seem judgeful.

"Mmm, I guess you could call it that. I much rather the terms journal or memoir, they have a less childish ring to them. But we'll just go with diary for you." He shoved the little black book, into his backpack, and took out a larger notebook that he began to scribble notes into. His long lean fingers danced flawlessly across the snow white paper. "Don't stare, you'll make me uncomfortable, and then cause yourself to become uncomfortable." Magnus said, never lifting his head from the paper. The blood drained from Alec's face as he realized that he had been gazing at Magnus for an abnormally long time.

"I wasn't starring." He tried to settle his voice long enough to sound convincing. Turning his head away to look at the wall next to him; concealing the high contrast blush that would not go away, for the life of him.

"Okay class, I am proffesor Starkweather. Just Hodge, is acceptable too." Their teacher began to go on, and on about rules and expectations of the year, not missing a single beat. He talked about how cellphones would be confiscated as soon as he saw them, how food was a no-no in the lab space, and how skipping was unacceptable. Basically the usual speech you got from every teacher at the beginning of the semester. Hodge also went on to talk about the different courses set up for the duration of the year: Plant life, Body parts & functions, and Sex. _Great, _Alec thought, _the one topic I hate. _"And you see the person beside you? They will be your partner for the remainder of the semester."

Alec frooze at Hodge's final comment. He now wished that he forcefully dragged Magnus over to the tan girl. He looked over at him, and even though Magnus was still writing god knows what, he had a huge grin stretched across his tawny face.

"First assignment, will be to write down a list of attributes about your partner. Since we will be starting the _Sex _unit first, it seems fit to discuss qualities in others that we, as humans, may be attracted to." Alec groaned, and rolled his eyes. "I expect the report on my desk first thing wednesday afternoon." As soon as Hodge was done talking, everyone in the class turned to their partners, prying each other for information -well everyone except Alec and Magnus. This class was supposed to be a haven for Alec, but it turned out it was the exact opposite, and he was stuck with no way out.

Alec could feel those cat eyes fixated to his head, but he didn't dare turn to meet them. He stared blankly ahead, swimming in his own dread and terrible luck. What was it Shakespeare had once said? _'And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak.' _Basically meaning in Alec's circumstance, that luck was around for a _very, _short time, like a 'whore'.

"Lovely," Magnus damn near purred, "are we going to do the project now or later? I would prefer now, since I have previous engagements for the later, if you don't mind." Alec shivered. What was it about the way Magnus spoke to him, that could cause these uncontrolable shivers to run wildly throughtout his body?

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Alexander, that is the point of the assignment -" Magnus snarkly replied, before Alec interrupted.

"No. Like a completley irrelevant question," Magnus nodded his head for Alec to continue, "why did you sit by me? I thought you hated me for snapping at you back in English." Alec shyly ducked his head down, as Magnus lowly chuckled under his breath.

"Even if you were a bit rude to me before, I don't dwell long on trivial things. In my mind, I didn't think we would have another class together, but low and behold, here we are."

"You didn't answer my question." Alec noted, his head still ducked down, between his shoulders. He was trying his hardest to avoid those eyes, because he knew that once he looked up, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from getting lost within those eyes.

"I just thought we could make ammends. Start off semi-fresh again." His large, tan, perfectly lotioned hand came into view. "Hi, I'm Magnus Bane, such a pleasure to meet you." Alec looked down at his hands that rested in his lap, and felt instantly embarrassed; his hands were rough and calloused, and oh so pasty white. He took Magnus' hand in his own, feeling the need to recoil on how cold Magnus' hand was. _Great, another thing to be embarrassed about: your clamy hands, _Alec shook his head at the thought.

"Alec Lightwood, uh... Nice to meet you to?" His greeting came out more as a question.

"Alexander," Magnus literally hummed his name, "shall we get started?"

"Yeah, why not." Alec released his notepad from his backpacks confides. He tapped the end of his pen to his chin, wondering where to start..."Favorite color?" He finally thought of.

"Does that really matter?"

"Well, we are supposed to get to know each other... it's a good place to start."

"It's a terrible place to start." Alec rolled his eyes and huffed under his breath.

"No one was asking you..." Alec muttered.

"Oh, on the contrare, I seem to believe you just asked me of my favorite color, lovely."

"I wasn't talking about that!" Alec raised his gaze from his notebook, a deep crimson flush collected on the apples of his cheeks. Magnus was starring at him, dead straight on.

"Meek." Magnus shrugged.

"What?"

"You're meek. So I am going to right that down as an attribute."

"Pompous." Alec crossed his arms over his chest, offended by Magnus calling him meek. Two could play at that game. Magnus raised his left eyebrow high at Alec's comment, his lips set in a straight line, and his eyes calculating.

"Fragile." He suggested.

"Arrogant."

"Naive."

"Superficial." Alec gritted his teeth together.

"Frigid." Magnus spat back, obviously offended by Alec's comment.

"I am _not _frigid. Even if I was, you don't know me, so how would you tell."

"I call it like I see it, sweetheart." Magnus gave Alec a sincerely fake smile, his cat eyes dialating weirdly -it was if he actually was a cat; Alec had never happened upon a set of eyes that did that. He was instantly enraged by Magnus. Back home on the east coast, there was no one that came close to being like Magnus. Usually Alec got along well with people, even if he was quite shy and submissive; no one tended to piss him off. But Magnus definetly made him want to reach over, and punch him in the gut until he screamed mercy.

The last bell rang, and within seconds Magnus was gone like a bullet shot. Alec smacked his head down on top of the lab table. _This is going to be a long year._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Holy, that took so long to edit, and I'm still sure there is probably a couple of mistakes. Sorry! Also sorry if it was a semi-long wait, the next one might take even longer... I'm suspecting at the most 4 days! Let's pray I can finish all of my art projects, social projects, and french projects on time!**

**Amber,**


	5. For you Blue

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER FIVE**

_**For you Blue  
><strong>  
>"I've loved you from the moment I saw you, You looked at me that's all you had to do,<br>__I feel it now I hope you feel it too. Because you're sweet and lovely."_

* * *

><p>Pompous. Arrogant. Superficial? Man, did that boy ever know how to hit Magnus hard. Those words were always something Magnus would hear in hushed whispers as their group walked by in the halls, from those around them; so by no means was this new information to him. That was how he was defined -in others eyes. Definitely not in his own though. In his eyes he felt capable to prosper in his life, he felt as if he had a shred of worth to his being, and he was highly proud of his brilliant mind -that he never showed to anyone, other then his teachers, and his biggest critic; his father. When you're born into a life of luxury, it is an unavoidable destiny to be talked about, and regarded as nothing more then an airless snotty kid, with heaps of money. But he had never wanted to be defined by the money his family had, or the esteem attached to the name, Bane.<p>

But, as much as he wished for a different outcome, those around him would always see him as, the pretty arrogant rich boy, that didn't give a damn, and who would gladly raise his middle fingers to the world.

And it was true -he didn't mind the hatred thrown at him, because he knew himself, for what and who he rightfully was; and brushed those words off effectively, with his chiseled chin held high. If, and he had to stress the idea if; Magnus were to release the shackles and binds that held his mask firmly in front of him, people would see someone who was passionately obsessed with fine literature, someone who played the piano for hours on end until the joints in his muscles shook -someone who would never ever feel emotionally good enough.

Now, when Alec had bluntly _and _clearly stated those words, Magnus felt them weigh down on his brittle body, and seep through his fragile skin. Magnus had found himself actually caring about what Alec had thought of him -which was a whole new experience for Magnus, in the least. With Alec, he had hoped, since Alec was new, that he wouldn't take on the infamous perceptions of Magnus at first glance. The way Alec's eyes bore into him, made him feel as if Alec could see everything others couldn't, as if Alec saw who Magnus _was_ -but that was quickly shattered within seconds.

Magnus let his protective shield take the reigns in class, guiding him in what he was to say; because he knew -no felt that if he hadn't, those deep blue eyes that swam with intense emotion would pierce through him, and somehow find their way to his heart. And it was that same protective shield that destroyed any little chance of hope he had left for Alec.

Magnus shook his head at how stupid it all sounded. After only a days time, and two short -yet entertaining -classes with Alec, he found himself semi-dislodged from his own body, yearning and being drawn towards the blushing dark haired boy. Magnus couldn't comprehend these strange and enduring feelings; if he were to be honest this wasn't a first time thing -the idea that is. However it was a first, on the magnitude of the sudden onslaught of his emotions.

Did this... Did this make him...

"Mag, what's wrong with you? You haven't said one word since we hopped in the car." Clary sighed, and fixed her tattered hair in the passenger seat mirror, overhead. Somehow by the end of the day she had taken on a savage birds nest look to her once properly curled locks; her white shimmery undershirt crumpled around the lines and curves of her small breasts and there was a few blossoming purple bruises on the side of her neck, just above her defined collarbone. Clary was known to have a _few _boyfriends, in which Sebastian happened to be a very recurring member; but she didn't 'get around' really, and just gazing at her now... Made Magnus want to give props and congratulations to the lucky suitor who could accomplish _that.  
><em>  
>"I have a lot on my mind. No need to worry, darling." Magnus brushed it off coyly, not wanting to further explain. And that was the truth. There was a lot on his mind, and likewise, a lot that he didn't feel the need to share with the rest of them. What would they think of him, knowing that the basis of his thoughts revolved around a guy, he barely knew?<p>

"By a lot on your mind, do you mean Alec Lightwood?" William, who was sitting beside Johnathan, said hoarsely from the back of the car. Magnus froze, was he really that wanton and readable? Better yet, how would _William _know...

"Ha, William, what would ever give you that impression?" Magnus asked, gulping back the uncertainty his voice held.

"I saw you come out of Biology, flustered, and I was about to go talk to you, when the kid came out with the same expression on his face. What happened in there?" William pried, which was very un-Will like. He was similar to Magnus, in the fact they never dwelled on trivial things, and never asked studious questions... Which was exactly what Magnus had been doing, in his own mind, just a moment ago he realized. There was definitely something wrong with him. Possibly Olive's herbal tea, Sarah's freshly baked scuffles and hours of divulging himself into a couple of Oscar Wilde plays, would release him of his troubles.

"_Nothing _happened. Leave it be." Magnus dismissively said. He didn't want to stay on the topic of _Alexander Lightwood_ any longer, because the more his name was brought up, the more Magnus thought of him; which was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do. Magnus wanted to erase his mind of how attracted he seemed to be, to those baby blues; or how attracted he was to the high flush that developed on the apples of Alec's cheekbones when he was embarrassed, or the way his charcoal black hair fell dishevelled around the frame of his face, or how Alec bit his thin, pink, bottom lip when he was nervous. _Stop, _Magnus told his mind, that managed to runaway on him. Thoughts like those, could only mean trouble for Magnus.

They all fell into a steady silence, the only sound was of the constant thrum and purr of his cars engine. A high wall of evergreen trees lined the narrow tar roadway, the peeks of the tops nearly licking the now grey depressive sky. There was small movement at the corners of Magnus' almond shaped eyes -deer's and other wildlife that roamed the lush forest grounds freely. They lived in a substantially large town, Alicante, that was highly regarded for it's outlandish hilltops and wide vast forests that covered most of the land. Everything about the town was impressively structured and complex; almost every building of their old downtown district had the charm and character of old Victorian villas -except in this case, it had a more fresh updated look. Which completely contradicted itself, in Magnus' mind. Magnus could remember the many summer days, when Clary dragged him down to the old boat docks, which lay on the other side of the hills, just so Clary could sketch the landscape, one of her many talents, while Magnus just sat there and read his books. Clary was maybe the only other person to know he read, but still, she didn't know the extent at which he did.

About an hour out of town, following a shallow dirt road, was a small lakeside beach that was hidden from the common eye -his mother used to take him there, whenever she had the time, seeing as they used to live just shy of the area before he was eleven, and now every moment he had the chance to get away from life in the present; that is where he went. The soft ripples of the lake water, and the calming sounds of crickets that chirped in the late evenings, became an Eden to Magnus, a way to escape from his own mind in some ways. And at the stroke of midnight, a bright array of fireflies lifted out of the grassy patches that stuck out unevenly between the golden sand, illuminating the area around him, to create the allusion of stars laying insanely close to the shore.

Even further out of town, heading north for a couple of hours, you would hit Idris, the closest city-state. Quite possibly the only city in the country, that had the most immaculate glass towers, which sprawled up, high between the clouds.

"Alec seems pretty nice. Timid, but nice." Clary's hum of a voice broke Magnus from his thoughts. Her suggestion caused Magnus to smile.

"You just like him because of his brother." Johnathan scoffed from the backseat.

"No! I actually think he's sweet, and nice, and -"

"Don't lie to me," Johnathan quickly cut her off mid sentence with a horrific growl. A terrible trait he inherited from their father Valentine, who very rarely ever respected their mother, Jocelyn. Both Johnathan and Valentine might have been viewed as the burly protectors of the family, but their means of protecting did little good and more damage to the women in their lives. "I saw you two at lunch. Really Clary? You don't even know, _golden boy._" Johnathan nearly yelled. Johnathan felt threatened by the guy, and for good measure. Clary was his baby sister after all, it was his job to keep her away from anything and anyone that could mangle her heart; and for some random obsolete guy, to come strolling into the halls, then eventually giving Clary a few hickeys the size of Texas -he had a right to be pissed off.

Not overly pissed off, but still _pissed off._

His tone of voice he used over Clary, however did cause Magnus to stifle back low chuckles when Clary began to roll her eyes greatly, and make 'blah blah blah' motions with her mouth. Johnathan always tried too hard to be like Valentine, it was evident in the way he mimicked Valentine's actions and words whenever they were over at the Morgenstern manor; but none of them were scared of Johnathan, because he did have some soft inner depth to him. Valentine, on the other hand, was someone to fear. He owned quite possibly one of the largest shipment companies in the country alone, and was a cut throat dictator, with high connections in the branches of the government. He was powerful, and used his power a bit too wisely. He had steely black eyes, that resembled Johnathan's, hard angular face and bright angel white blonde hair, that was immaculately cut. It was sometimes odd thinking Clary and Johnathan were siblings, seeing as Clary adopted most if not all her looks and personality traits from her mother, and Jonathan, from Valentine.

"It seems to me these, _Lightwood's,_" William maliciously said, "have stirred up quite the controversy between us." Magnus grunted, _how was William involved in any of this?  
><em>  
>"And what, per-say, do you believe to be the solution?" Magnus asked distastefully, not enjoying the path their conversation was taking. William laughed a disastrously hoarse and cynical laugh, that alarmed all of Magnus' senses. Red flags burst in front of his eyes at the sound -his hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that the skin around his knuckles turned snow white.<p>

Magnus could see clearly from the corner of his right eye, Clary absently gnawing at her bottom lip that was caught in between her bottom and top pearly whites; quivering. For as long as they had all known William, they knew him as an exceptional planner and schemer. He was able to come up with cut throat ideas that had no room for error. Back in the day, Camille and Tessa had been outsiders to their little group, but as soon as they began to _'grow up', _Will hatched a flawless plan to submerge them into their large group. Only Magnus was ever aware of this, because more often then not William confided in Magnus with these types of things.

Over the years their group began to dwindle in size, whenever William got bored with certain people. Charlotte, Sophie and Henry were a faint memory that Magnus attempted to hold on to; and likewise over the years there group grew, and grew in size. More often then not, you could find, Magnus, William, Sebastian, Clary, Johnathan, James, Camille, Tessa, Jessamine, Quincey, Gideon, Gabriel, and sometimes Simon, all huddled around the same park bench just outside of the school grounds. And more often then not, they all were found in the back woods -where most of the teenagers in Alicante went to _have a good time. _All, came from ridiculously wealthy families, and all had many things and or preferences in common. Although Simon wasn't from a respectively rich family; at the beginning they had all put up with him, because of Clary, but many of them had grown to like him over the years. Magnus could not stand him, on most days, but Simon was a good, and faithful friend, that he even grew to miss whenever his presence was gone. Everyone welcomed Simon in with open arms, not seeing the fault in having him there.

Everyone except William that is. He had mentioned a few plans to Magnus that he had in mind, to essentially fracture and or break the friendship between Clary and Simon, resulting in Clary and the rest of them shunning and looking down on him. But Magnus always talked him out of it, stating that a friendship as great as theirs was meant to be left alone.

William cleared his throat loudly, bringing Magnus back to the present state of mind. He glared at Magnus through the rear view mirror, his blue eyes held so much intensity it sent unnerving shocks along Magnus' spine.

"Oh, you'll see."

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><p><strong>AN: Filler Chapter, basically. Sorry if it's not the best! And again sorry for the long wait, I didn't expect so many things to pop up in my life as of late. I also need to catch up on writing a lot more chapters! As of right now, I have three almost ready to go, but to me, I feel as if I'll run out soon... and I need to write like five more until I start updating again. (I know I'm weird, lol) So, that being said, it will probably be another three-four days wait for the next one (Is that okay?) And hey, I will tell you one thing: _Reviews does make the process go faster (;_**  
>(<em>One last thing... I'm sorry if I'm making Will seem like an absolutely terrible person. I don't want anyone to think that I am biased against him. Because truthfully, I love William Herondale, and I cried thinking about how terribly distraught he was at the end of Clockwork Prince. So yeah, in this story I guess it just fits, but otherwise I don't want you guys to think I hate him, because I<em> _don't!)_

**Amber,**


	6. Good day Sunshine

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER SIX**

_**Good day Sunshine  
><strong>  
>"We take a walk, the sun is shining down, Burns my<br>feet as they touch the ground__."_

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><p>Alec and Jace sat inside the Jeep wrangler, the sweet sounds of Nirvana engulfing the stuffy space. Jace sat beside Alec, in the drivers seat; his chair reclined and feet kicked up to level with the black leather steering wheel. Alec quite nearly mimicked Jace's position, although the only difference was his feet rested upon the dashboard, close to touching the window shield ahead. That was another difference between them, besides the hair color, eye color, and personality: Jace was fairly tall, and all muscle, while Alec was gigantically tall, and just as toned.<p>

They had been in the car, like that, for over an hour, possibly two, watching the cars zoom past them along the downtown roadways. Alec watched as the sun dipped low on the horizon through the grey clouds; little rays of light would occasionally break their way through the barrier, and shine directly on his face -scorching his eyelids. Earlier in the day it had been all sunshine and rays; the intensity of the heat wafted throughout the air, almost suffocatingly hot and stuffy. But now, as the time inched closer to evening, depressive grey clouds rolled in, and took home base, across the once spectacular blue skies. Alec didn't quite know which he preffered; it was always nice to feel the suns waves hit his back whenever he went to the beach back home, but here it just didn't seem to fit his mood at all.

After school the boys had agreed to take Isabelle to the bath and body works shop, downtown -for only a couple of minutes. And somehow Isabelle had been gone for double, no quadrupole the amount of time. God know's what, was taking her so long in that store. If it had been Alec, he would have picked up the first bar of soap he saw that smelt at least decent, paid for it, and left. Get in, get out. Alec wanted to go home desperately, sit in his room alone with the blinds pulled, so he could wallow in his own misery before dinner time, and essentially sulk. He had optimistically thought that today was supposed to go well, light and easy -but by the end of the day, the way things shaped out, ended up being quite the opposite -like the inferno; cold and distant.

Jace tugged on the sleeve of his shirt lightly, gaining his attention. "So..." Jace slurred gaily, hiking his voice up an octave, "how was school?" Alec shrugged and bit on the corner of his lip absently; not all to sure if discussing his day would make him feel any better about the situation. "Aweh, come on. It couldn't have been that bad. Usually I can get a few words out of you," Jace muttered to himself, and pressed the recliner button, bringing his seat up, to hover over Alec's. He began to pout, sticking his light pink bottom lip out, and feverishly batting his crazy long eyelashes. Alec was dragged in; that stupid face, that Jace always made to have his way -actually worked for him in Alec's case. He was never the one to deny Jace of anything, especially given the circumstances that Alec did have feelings for Jace that he would never be able to intentionally deny.

Alec sighed, and ran his large hand through his thick black hair. "There's this guy -"

"Woah Alec, is there something you aren't telling us?" Jace cut in, and gave Alec his best fake shocked look, causing Alec to blush the color of a ripe strawberry.

"Jace! I-I didn't mean it like that," he quickly defended, thrashing his head exasperatedly from side to side.

"I know princess." Jace let out a short chuckle, "now do go on." He waved his olive toned hand in front of Alec's face. By now Alec felt too frustrated to continue, both Isabelle and Jace knew how to get a rise out of him, and they used their methods against him effectively. _He, _was the older brother; that should have been his job.

"Like I was saying," Alec sighed again, "there's this guy, well actually two guys, and this other guy."

"You aren't making any sense."

"Let me finish," he replied quickly before continuing, "I met this guy Simon right before first block, and he told me to stay away from a guy that was tall, black hair, blue eyes, and a guy with cat eyes. And seriously I thought 'how hard could that be?' When I got to English I instantly saw the black hair, blue eyes guy -William, I found out his name was -and surprisingly enough the only chair left in the class was close by to him, but not so so close, yenno what I mean?" Alec rambled. Jace just gave him a faithful nod, his eyes locked in concentration, for Alec to continue. He took a deep breath, "so I sat down, in front of someone with a shiny grey jacket on, who was trying to doze off I guess, thinking he was someone normal. But then I asked him a question, he picked his head up sharply..." Alec dragged out the end.

"And...?" Jace waited for him to continue impatiently.

"And low and behold, it's the cat eyes guy -_Magnus. _I thought William was bad by the end of the day, seeing as though he knocked my book from my desk -"

"He knocked your book down? What kind of asshole does that?" Jace looked actually pissed off, his golden eyes darkening to a deep amber shade. Alec had only seen that darkness in his eyes before, on rare occasions.

"It's fine really, not a big deal. But as I was saying: I thought William was bad, since he continued to shoot daggers at my head in Math class with his eyes, but man was I horribly mistaken. I have Bio, with Magnus, who is also my _partner, _for the remainder of the year, and he's just awful. Down right awful. William is a major arrogant douche bag, that probably thinks anyone below him is absolute scum. And Magnus... Magnus -" Alec couldn't finish his sentence, because in that moment he really didn't have any words to describe Magnus. He knew that the words he used in Biology weren't actually truth -at first glance, yeah of course Alec would have thought Magnus was insanely superficial, judging by the way he looked. With his hair in a perfect faux hawk, his clothes pressed, shiny and sleek, and the suddle yet impact-worthy glittery makeup he wore around his eyes, would make anyone think he was someone who cared for the superficial things in life; someone who was vain.

But upon talking to him, only for a brief amount of time, in English class and at the beginning of Biology, Alec somehow sensed that it was a mask to cover up what was underneath. A glittery mask, that would help him move along amongst his peers. But then again, Alec couldn't be all too sure, after all, he didn't know a thing about Magnus except the fact that he had a fond taste in Shakespeare.

Jace clapped his hand softly onto Alec's shoulder, and gave him a firm squeeze.

"Damn, your day must have been terrible. Don't sweat it Alec, it will get better, just wait and see." Jace half smiled, revealing the chip in his tooth. Alec looked at him incredulously, placing his hand over the fabric of his shirt, where his heart would be. "What?" Jace gazed at Alec quizzically.

"Jace Lightwood, actually trying to console me? Well I never!" Alec mocked and gave his best rendering of old southern movies. Jace shoved at his shoulder, and tapped him once in the gut -not that hard that it would hurt, but hard enough to take some wind out of Alec. Moment's like these were a rare sight to see when it came to Alec, he never joked around all that much -only whenever in the presence of Jace, because it somehow came naturally to him. Jace brought out both the insecure shy Alec, more times then he could count, and the jokeful talkative Alec, on occasion -which was an amazing accomplishment really.

"Guys! Look what I got," Isabelle bounded into the car abruptly, sifting through three large green bags, with the stores logo spread across the front. "This ones for you," she handed Alec a Sandalwood body wash, "and this is yours." Jace took the Mountain Pine body wash from her, opened the cap and began to sniff it lovingly.

"_This _is what took you so long, Iz?" Alec regarded his body wash one more time, before turning around to glare at her, "picking out some dumb body wash?"

"Alec, body wash isn't dumb. Would you rather I take it back in, and you can go to school smelling, less then, well, sandal woody?" Isabelle shrugged, and threw her arms lazily over her chest, glaring back at Alec squarely. Determination laced the color of her dark eyes, and spread to the smug smirk she had on her pretty face.

"I for one, am loving this body soap." Jace commented, as he stashed it into the glove compartment, and stuck the keys into the ignition. Alec reclined his seat up as they began to pull out into the roadway, merging with the free flowing traffic around them.

"How were your guys day?" Isabelle asked from the back seat.

"Terrible," Alec breathlessly said and sighed, he placed his elbow on the window sill, then rested his chin on his knuckles, gazing out onto the towns landscape and charm. Every building looked as if an updated version of old Victorian houses -somewhat like how Mount Western Prep. appeared. People littered the streets around every corner, and many of the families grouped together had young children mainly the age of eight and nine... Alec gulped back the sudden rush of memories, and returned his eyes to the road ahead.

"Well I had a pretty eventful first day," Jace shrugged, shoulder checking before turning onto a steep climb.

"Oh my gosh Jace. Which girl did you terrorize?" Isabelle huffed.

"Her name is Clary, and I didn't _terrorize _her. Maybe almost, _disrupted _her virtue, but I doubt she still has one anymore in the first place." He shrugged.

"Jace!"

"What? Izzy, don't give me that tone of voice!" Jace mocked, mimicking their mother's tone, when Maryse received minimal back talk from her kids; causing Alec to giggle. "It's not like _you, _didn't have an eventful day. I saw you at lunch with Mr. Tall, dark and well, handsome or whatever."

"Who?" Alec swung his head to look at Jace. At first he wished he had his lunch break to hangout with his siblings and relax, but now more then ever hearing that a new guy had walked into Isabelle's life without his consensus, made him damn himself that he wasn't there. Jace would attempt to protect her, that was always a given, but the way Jace was never able to focus on one thing at a time provided a heavy challenge in that respect.

"From the way you were describing that one guy earlier, Alec, I would think it's the same person..." Jace furrowed his eyebrows tightly together. Alec's alarm system within his head went off, flashing a huge red warning signal across his vision.

"Iz, what's his name?" Alec nearly growled and turned his body as far as he could, so that he was practically facing Isabelle in the back seat. She raised her left eyebrow high on her forehead, and gave Alec a dubious look as if he were some crazy person.

"His name is William, and -"

"Oh my god!" Alec rolled his eyes widely. "You are not going to speak to him ever again, you hear me?"

"What are you? Mom?" Isabelle shook her head.

"I'm not kidding Isabelle. I don't want you around that guy." Alec glared at her sternly. He _never _called her Isabelle, for as long as he could remember. He attempted to soften his voice; any other time this conversation would have been smooth, and not so blunt and straightforward; but Alec had, had enough for one day, and didn't see the need to shelter Isabelle.

"You don't need to worry about what I do in my spare time," Isabelle muttered to herself, turning her face away to stare out of the window. There was a light flush that rested high around the apples of her cheek bones, and her perfectly shaped eyebrows were pulled tightly together in frustration. Her full cupid mouth, which was usually pulled into a smile, now sat in a straight unnerving line. Alec turned back to the front of the car, shaking his head in equal irritation, as Jace began to slowly pull into the driveway.

Isabelle moved like the blown bullet of a shot gun, when Jace had parked, darting out of the car, and into the house. Jace glanced at Alec, gave him a small incouraging smile, and shrugged his shoulders before easing himself out of his seat. Alec followed suit, and slammed the car door shut. As they made their way to the cherry wood front door, Alec caught a flash of black at the corner of his eye, at the same time Jace had -a sleek black Mercedes Benz drove into the drive way, and out stepped a tall man, with short dark brown hair that was perfectly combed, dark eyes that left no room for comfort, and a tailored pin-stripe dark blue suit.

"Dad?"

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><p><strong>AN: Oh my gosh, I'm terrible for making you guys wait so long. Sorry! I'll update a lot sooner for the duration of two weeks. I have a good amount of free time on my hands now (: If you haven't noticed yet, this story will not be all fluff, (but yes there will be some later on). I want to write this story in a way that it goes along with a very natural progression of relationship building between people, and not jump right into an immense amount of fluff, and smut, (but don't fret! that will come in a bit later). So yeah, stick along for the ride (: there will be chapters where Magnus and Alec might not interact, but it just adds to the background and atmosphere of the story in my opinion.  
>Review! (I would greatly appreciate it!)<strong>

**Amber,**


	7. Let it be

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER SEVEN**

_**Let it be  
><strong>  
>"When I find myself in times of trouble, mother mary comes to me.<br>Speaking words of wisdom: Let it be__."_

* * *

><p>Magnus stuck his keys into the large brass lock on the front door, and patiently waited for the hushed clicking sound. As soon as he pushed on the heavy black door, and stepped over the threshold, Olive was there to greet him; take his books and bag, scurrying up the stairs as fast as her tiny feet would take her, to his bedroom.<p>

Magnus made his way to the grand kitchen, which was situated just shy of the front doors landing around the corner. The whole house was crafted out of dark cherry wood wall panels, and dim lit sconces that lined the intricate dark trimming along the rooftop. All the ceilings were elevated to staggering heights, almost as if he lived in some type of old cathedral church. To the far left, just behind a small half wall, was the formal living room. The couches a ruby red stain, and every other piece of furniture in the room was black. It was definitely a terrifying house to walk around in at night. Shadows seemed to dance and move with every step you took, in a very overbearingly ominous manner. Their house was huge, gigantic, a monster compared to the other lots on the hills -and had many secret rooms, passages, and hidden nooks and crannies everywhere. It was a labyrinth in layout, you never knew what you were going to find behind the walls of this house. It would have been a young child's dream house, to play hide and go seek in -but to Magnus, this house would never be his home, never a dream place to be.

Magnus continued on to the kitchen, where Sarah was busy cooking up a storm over the stainless steel double cook top. Everywhere his eyes fell, his gaze was met by the constant look of the shiny material of steel, sharp harsh convoluted lines, and dark waxy brooding spaces that made you feel trapped and encased.

Ever since Magnus and his father moved into the house, when Magnus was eleven, it had never resembled their once bright, happy and cheerful house he essentially grew up in -not even close to resembling that once happy haven. _Nothing _was ever the same -if he had to think about it; Magnus and his father had long since recognized that it probably never would be. There was a gloomy air that dropped over top of them -always cloaking them within a haze of shrill mist. Magnus and his father were always good at placing the gloom at the back of their minds -but evidently it was still there, screaming to be let out. They both had become accustomed to hiding that part of their lives from others, it was definitely somewhat of a touchy matter for both men -and would always be. Something you could never forget.

Magnus walked up to the stove, and leaned over the top of Sarah's shoulder, to happen upon the most deliciously colorful casserole dish he had ever seen. "You must teach me your family recipes sometime," he took a long whiff of the pungent smells that arose from the dish, eliciting a tiny sigh to escape his lips. Sarah flinched, only a fraction of a second, when he first began to talk.

"I don't know if you've noticed this by now Magnus, but you move with the grace and silence of a cat. Next time boy, announce at the doorway when you're coming into the kitchen." Sarah gave him a stern glance over her shoulder.

"Will do, mam." Magnus went to sit around the stainless island counter top, and swiped a ripe plum out of a pristine white bowl that laid perfectly in the middle of the island. He bit into it, licking the sweet nectar lazily from his bottom lip. "Where's Felicity gone off to? Usually should would have smothered me as soon as I walked through that door -"

"Something happened between your father and her this afternoon, and he _let her go_." Sarah shrugged almost sadly, as she shook her head thoughtfully.

"Oh, I'm going to miss her _motherly _ways," Magnus mocked, knowing it wasn't destined to last in the first place. It never lasted, that was a given Magnus had gotten used to by the age of fourteen. He learnt to always keep his fathers women at arms length -that way he couldn't begin to trust them and welcome them into his soul. It had happened twice before, where he began to like the women too much, cherishing them as friends in a way, but Magnus was too young to know the fault in that otherwise. Now, he could see the error in his fathers judgement on the environment to raise Magnus in -his father was a womanizer... Was he hoping to make Magnus one too?

"Now Magnus, don't turn into a scornful old soul, even if she wasn't the best... person, she was still a mother figure to you. And that's what you need the most." Sarah's tone was tainted.

"And that's where you are wrong," Magnus muttered under his breath, trying to prove to himself and otherwise reassure himself that he really didn't need another mother figure in his life -it wouldn't ever feel as close to the real thing, as he would like and want it to. "So, we have a few new kids in our grade," Magnus changed the topic.

"Is that so?" Sarah didn't turn to regard him, she was too busy chopping different vegetables to add to dinner -but even so, Magnus knew that 80 percent of her attention was on him, just by the way her ears seemed to flutter towards the direction of his voice, locking on his position.

"Yep," he took another bite of the plum, "one of them is in two of my classes,"

"What's she like? Pretty? Smart?" Sarah spun around, ladle in hand, a bright smile on her face. Sarah had never liked Magnus' previous relationships, because apparently they were too artificial and forced -which for the most part she was right. Now upon hearing that Magnus had met someone knew, and the fact Magnus found it important to talk about, Sarah was beaming with hopefulness. Little did she know that this new person Magnus had met, was a guy, and a guy that set him on edge for the record.

"_He," _Magnus emphasized, "is very timid, and likes Shakespeare." Sarah still gazed at him, her eyes portraying a hidden emotion that Magnus couldn't quite put his finger on. It was as if she could see something he couldn't. Within a second the emotion in her eyes was gone, and she returned to chopping up vegetables.

"What's 'is name, then?" Sarah's partially southern accent came out in the way she talked sometimes, and now was no exception to hiding it.

"Al-"

"Magnus," The deep tenor of his fathers voice came through one of the many doorways that led into the kitchen. He swung around in his chair to face the direction of his fathers voice. His eyes rested on the sight of his father, in a slick dark grey tweed suit, his long black hair pulled into his ever so traditional flat pony-tail, and his green eyes, sharp and attentive. But the thing that caught Magnus off guard was the woman standing next to him. Her dark medium length hair, flared at the bottoms just above her collar bone, she was dressed in a formal dress suit, with a light aqua silk shirt underneath, that quite predominately matched the color of her eyes. She had a sweet comforting face, but held a steady gaze.

Magnus narrowed his eyes, in concentration, even further, as his brain tried to mentally connect two pieces together -she seemed way to familiar, but Magnus could not be too sure, where his brain was trying to lead him. "This is one of Valentine's newest associates, and secondly a new assistant of mine," Magnus rolled his eyes, the word 'assistant' to his father, was never a good thing.

The woman stepped forward, a small almost non-existent smile on her face, offering her hand, "Hello, Magnus, your father has told me a great deal about you, in such a small span of time." He starred at her hand distastefully, recollecting the thought that Felicity had just left _that afternoon, _and his father had already taken up another offer? He glanced past her shoulder to find his father starring at him menacingly, almost threatening for Magnus to take her hand -or else, with those hard forest green eyes. He obliged willingly, her hands warm, clammy, and oh so familiar. Again his mind tried to connect two and two together. Whatever that 'two and two' was.

"So when will you be moving in? Do try to keep it down on school nights, I do enjoy my sleep." Magnus' fathers eyes flamed with anger. The woman, in front of him, face instantly set into hard lines, and she retracted her hand hastily.

"I assure you Magnus, this situation is not like that." Her expression went slightly grave, and a bit cynical as to what Magnus had previously implied. Magnus' father came to stand beside him, and pressed his hand firmly into the nook of Magnus neck. His lengthy tan fingers dug into the bare skin at the hem of his t-shirt. _There will definitely be a bruise in the morning,_Magnus thought, as his fathers hand held him firm, in his spot.

"Magnus, Mrs. Lightwood has a wonderful husband that I have met sometime ago, and three wonderful children. You would do well in perfecting your manners." He lifted his gaze from Magnus to the woman, as her name hit Magnus dead in the face, causing him to choke lightly on a piece of plum, "Maryse, do forgive my son for his -"

"_Lightwood? _You're Alexan- Alec's mother?" Magnus starred at her incredulously, finally seeing the slight curve of her mouth, and the delicate arch in her eyebrow, that resembled Alec's features all too well.

"Yes, Alec and his brother, and sister just started school today. You go to Mount Western Prep. Private Academy?"

"Uhh... Yeah I do. Can you pass on a message to your son?" Magnus stood from his seat, shrugging out of his fathers grasp, and made his way over to the archway that led into the hallway closest to the grand staircase; suddenly feeling a bit too awkward standing in the same room as Alec's mother. Maryse nodded in agreement. "Tell him that our Biology report will not write itself, and that he should call me -today preferably." Magnus' father nodded proudly in his direction, only for the fact that Magnus was showing a slight assertive nature over Maryse.

If there was one thing about Gerald Bane, it was his sheer desire to raise Magnus to turn out exactly like him -a demi-copy. The genetics were there, they both had somewhat other worldly appearances, with coffee stained skin, green almond shaped eyes, hard chiseled jaw lines, strong angular cheekbones, and lush black hair. But the only thing that disrupted Gerald's dreams, was the simple fact that Magnus was his mothers son -and always would be.

"Does he have your number?"

"No, but I suspect you to retrieve it from my father on your way out, and further inform Alexander." Magnus felt for some strange reason he needed to hold a strong authority over her. Whether it was because of the looks his father continued to give him, or whether it was because he felt absolutely terrified in her presence; he didn't know. She was as delicate as a flower on the outside, but as Magnus began to talk longer glances at her, he could see the rock hard icy core, that _might _have been tampered with on very rare circumstances.

Strange, strange trivial things were coursing throughout Magnus mind today, possibly a little trip to Sebastian's fathers wine cellar was in the cards for the early morning hours of tomorrow.

Magnus gave Maryse a courteous bow before retreating into the hall, and dashing feverishly up the stairs.

His bedroom smelt of freshly squeezed lemons, and sweet rosemary perfumes -which was how it always smelt when he returned home. Olive and Sarah were very persistent on keeping his bedroom in the greatest condition, despite his protests. Magnus would have rather his space to be left the way he had it, with his yellow canary sheets crumpled and nearly falling off the bed, and his enormous collection of makeup pots to be laid strewn across his vibrant blue vanity table.

It felt much more cozy that way, but then again he was thankful that Olive and Sarah cleaned up after him, so he wouldn't have to live in his own filth. Magnus was always a very indecisive person -forever more accepting both sides to any coin.

Magnus sifted through his bag, until he revealed his white, purple jewelled iPhone. Upon checking his messages, one caught his attention:

_'Meet me in the back woods at midnight.'_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Two days! Way better than four, yes :P ? So like I said in my last Authors note, there will be a couple of filler chapters for a bit (not for too long). Also there will be a future chapter which explains why and what caused such a dramatic shift in the Bane household -but I'm guessing a lot of you could already guess what it is... or can you? Since it is the first few chapters of this story, I wanted to introduce all of the characters that will have a part in the story as a whole; so say hi to Gerald Bane! (There are a few more introductions that will take place along the way!)  
>Reviews are greatly appreciated. Like you guys have no clue how happy I get when I see a review -I just begin to smile like crazy, and then weirdly giggle to myself, because im cool like that... ahah.<br>Next chapter should be up soon! I can't give an approximate timeline; it all depends on how many future chapters I finish. (I only have three right now! I cannot run out... that would be devastating.)**

**Amber,**


	8. Blackbird

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER EIGHT**

_**Blackbird  
><strong>  
>"Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life,<br>you were only waiting for this moment to arise__."_

* * *

><p>"Jace. Alec." Robert Lightwood, nodded his head hesitantly in their direction; as if he wasn't all too sure, if greeting them was appropriate. "Where's Izzy?" He asked timidly, and took a step forward. His hands were clasped behind him, his face a cross between serious and hesitant. Without any coherent thought, Alec instantly ran to his father, and slammed into his tall, bulky body with enough force, that it caused Robert to rock backwards on his heels. Alec latched his hands around Robert's back, and held on tight -for the life of him, he didn't want to ever let go. Robert returned the hug, and turned his cheek into Alec's dishevelled black hair; breathing a sigh of relief. Alec felt the heat of his breath flush over him, and surprisingly let out a sigh of his own that he hadn't known he had been holding in -letting the presence of his father wash over him.<p>

Jace had made his way over to them by now, and shared in their manly embrace. Jace had one hand situated firmly upon Alec's upper back, and the other on Robert's, leaning in closely to their faces; that contact alone with Jace sent a frenzy of heat to course hotly in Alec's veins. God, Alec wished he didn't have these emotions towards Jace, it would make everything that much easier for him, if they could just dissappear. But as Alec had already realized for himself, life would never be easy. It always seemed to toy with Alec the most. Pull and taunt his emotions, feelings, and otherwise, his morals and sanity -as if none of that was important.

Robert retreated gradually from their arms, and fixed a strand of limp hair that had now fallen into Alec's eyes. "This needs to be cut, Alec."Robert commented, and Alec shrugged, not interested at all in casual conversations about hair. He was sure there were many things involving his appearance that needed to be changed, but he didn't mind. He was the carefree sibling, never updating his look to the latest trends -he was just himself in how he appeared and acted -while Jace and Isabelle always tried to fit in with everyone else. In which they flawlessly did. If ever, Alec attempted to do so, he would fail miserably; only for the simple fact that he _always _went for comfort -and more now then ever before back home, seeing the way the people dressed at the new school, noting that nothing about them looked comfortable. Therefore rulling out Alec's hopes on fitting in style wise. He would definitely have to try out for soccer if he wanted to be accepted somewhere in the schools hiearchy.

Alec, snapped himself back to reality, realizing that, their father had been gone, for a substantially long time, without any recognition as to why he left. They all assumed business at first, since both Maryse and Robert's jobs usually sent them on strenuous trips -but Maryse knew the actual truth; it floated in the blue depths of her eyes, once in awhile, and the way she avoided the topic of Robert, like a pro. Alec began to expect the worst of course, once they hit the three month mark; then Robert called once, and only once to check up on his family. Alec was never particularly close to his father, neither was Jace -seeing as though Robert was his adoptive father -but the lack of un-denying closeness that was held between them all, didn't seem to loosen their love for him. It only somehow strengthened that love; whenever there were those faint remarkable moments of laughter, joy, and plain happiness between them -it made those moments all that more special and cherished amongst them.

However, Alec began to rethink things in that moment, watching Robert and Jace casually banter back and forth about what sports teams he had already been eyeing at school, and simple chatter about girls. Should he have _punched _his father instead of hugged him? _Robert_ was the one that left _them, _high and dry, without an explanation as to why; and in turn caused Maryse to go into an even deeper depressive state -not to mention that ever since the accident, Maryse was never the same. Sure, she would attempt to act her usual self, to stay assertive but delicate at all times -but over time Alec began to notice the red clouds that constantly formed in the whites of her eyes, the tired lines which pulled away from the corners of her eyes; and the mere fact that she up routed her family for a simple job promotion and or offering, spoke words to Alec.

Maryse would have never left their home on the East coast -it was where each and every one of her children took their first steps, shared fond memories of barbecues with the neighbours, and essentially grew up. Sentimental shit like that, meant a lot to Maryse; and seeing as though Robert left, she most likely couldn't bare to stay in that house any longer without his presence. So she jumped at the first job offer she got.

Or at least that was Alec's theory. There was no telling what the truth was when it involved his parents really. They might have been the most secretive people he had ever met; he would never be able to pinpoint how they would react to certain situations -Maryse more so than Robert. Alec prayed to god that when he became submerged into a relationship that was meant to last -there would be the utmost trust and honesty between them. He yearned for a love that he didn't need to be afraid of, didn't need to worry about -didn't need to regret in the long run.

"Does mom know you're home?" Alec skeptically asked, interrupting Jace's rant about his classes mid-sentence. That was another thing Alec didn't understand: How did Robert know where the house was exactly located?

"No, your mother does not know. But I spoke to her a few weeks ago, to get the address of the house -"

"Where were you?" Alec blurted out, and instantly regretted it. His tone was filled with sadness and desperation somehow. He felt his lip tremble, as he gazed longingly at the man he so desperately wished was here, wherever Alec was, for the past year. Robert pursed his thin lips together, and regarded Alec with thoughtful, sympathetic black eyes only for a moment, before all emotion was wiped from his face, and in its place a hard, cold, outer shell was formed. A shell that could not be penetrated. And Alec knew that, that was Robert's defense mechanism; and in his case it was to protect his children from things which shouldn't be brought up anytime soon.

"I had... Things to take care of. Work related." Robert dismissively said. Alec was about to question him even further, but then he saw a flash of waves of black, and light ivory skin; and suddenly Isabelle bounded into their fathers arms. He held her like a fragile porcelain doll -which was the exact opposite of how she was. "Izzy," Robert smiled, the shell around him cracked faintly at the sensation of having his daughter in his arms once again. He was warm-hearted, that was something Robert could never deny about himself. Alec could clearly see now that Isabelle was tearing up, a thin line of water rimmed her dark eyes -but given how resistant Isabelle was to showing weakness, she held back the tears from spilling over.

After a few moments of long awaited greetings, they all began to make their way into the house -Robert grabbing his bags from the trunk of his sleek black car in both hands, with ease. Making it seem effortless to him. He was a tall man, with a stocky build, which potentially could appear threatening to anyone that came within a ten meter radius of him. But inside, past the steel outer exterior Robert exuded, was an unstable, breakable, warm-hearted man -that always needed to hide his true nature from his colleagues and business associates. And more recently, hide himself from his family.

In more ways than Alec could count, they resembled a lot of each other. Almost as if Robert was the older mirror image of himself. In the way they handled things, in the way they disconnected themselves from those around them when times got hard -in the way they deemed to hide important things from their family, the ones they loved. Alec was his father's son, in many ways... Except for the fact that Robert had been drawn towards women, while Alec was drawn towards his brother, and a guy with cat eyes, and shiny silken black hair. Alec could only imagine what his parents would think, if they could see and feel his thoughts about Jace and Magnus. It was less then, well, disheartening. He would never know where his parents stood, in different... More confusing aspects of life.

_Wow, _Alec thought briefly. He had managed to go more than a few minutes without thinking of Magnus.

Magnus. Magnus. Magnus. It was as if his name was a catchy logo tune, that was constantly being broad casted on the television -but in Alec's circumstance: was being broad casted across his mind. That fox smile, intoxicating yellow-green eyes which were perfectly lined with black eyeliner and highlighted with shimmering gold, and that taught, tall and lean body -were only a couple of the endearing images running over Alec's mind, and in front of his eyes. And the sound of Alec's name, when Magnus said _Alexander _in a slight sultry tone, vibrated in his ears.

What was wrong with him?

Alec hadn't realized it, until he was snapped back to reality, that Jace had been clicking his calloused fingers together in front of his face, muttering his name for a while now -Alec supposed. They were now standing in the front foyer of the bright house; faint light seaped through the grey clouds, and through the large doomed skylight overhead. Isabelle and Robert had gone of into the house -making sure that Robert could become familiar with his new surroundings.

"Huh?" Alec stupidly said, squaring his eyes in front of him, to happen upon the annoyed face of Jace Lightwood.

"I was trying to tell you that your phone was ringing, but it seems to me that your mind is definitely else where..." Jace furrowed his eyebrows, and gazed at Alec skeptically. His liquid golden eyes pointedly searching Alec's lake blue eyes for any indication as to what had been running through his mind.

"Oh shit," Alec said, before he finally heard the constant ring of his black android phone. He fumbled with the back pocket on his dark washed jeans, before pulling it out, and hastily answering it. "Hello?"

_"Alec, why did it take you so long to answer?" _Maryse asked, her tone conveyed that she was not amused in the least. She was always one, who worried strongly about time, and how much people continued to waist it, day by day on the utmost trivial things in life.

"I, uh, umm, uh," Alec stammered momentarily, desperatley trying to collect his thoughts. "Dad's home," Alec blurt out for no good reason, causing Jace to give him a 'what the hell?' glower, and face his palms upwards towards Alec, shrugging his shoulders forward. Alec smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead roughly, and shut his eyes. _Damnit, _Alec said to himself, trying to plan an escape route quickly. But what was he supposed to say? _Oh, yenno, I didn't answer because I'm hopelessly day dreaming about some guy I just met today, that probably hates me, and I'm not all to sure if I even hate him back. _That was not a good idea.

There was a silent eerie pause on his mothers side of the call, and Alec gulped loudly, awaiting what she was going to say. It was menacing, and pulled at the delicate strings of Alec's mind. He wanted to hand the phone over to Jace, to pass the burden of listening to Maryse yell over the phone, to him. But knowing Jace, he would probably dart away from the phone, and run to some unsuspecting part of the house. Jace only stood there in front of Alec, now, waiting to see if Alec could possibly take the word lashing Maryse was about to dish out. _Cheeky bastard, _Alec thought, _I'd like to see him be in my spot._

_"Okay Alexander," _Oh, this was headed in the absolute worst direction. Just as no one else deemed to call Iz, Isabelle, or Jace, Johnathan Christopher, it was also a given to not call Alec, Alexander.

Magnus. Magnus. Magnus. Just hearing his mother call him Alexander sent an onslaught of fear throughout him, and consequently made him get lost in the image of those bright yellow-green, _come-hither, _cat eyes. _"Could you tell, Jace, Izzy, and -" _Maryse sucked in a ton of air, creating a shifty static sound on Alec's end, _"-Robert, that we've been invited to dinner tomorrow night. As well Alec, a young man requested I give you his number."  
><em>  
>That was definitely not what Alec was expecting; but it was better then the latter. He had haistly mentally prepared for accusations to fly left and right, questions which were rather yelled than hushed over the phone. He didn't expect his mother to completely disregard the topic, in stride; it wasn't like her to do that. "Wait, who?" Alec asked, slightly bewildered on who would want to give Alec their number. Although he did have his suspicions...<p>

_"Magnus Bane." _Maryse replied, as Alec's stomach dropped between his legs. No, no, no, no! His mother had met Magnus? What had he said to her? Did he explain to her how rude he was in English _and _Biology class? Oh, Alec was going to get it when Maryse got home. That was her plan, he realized; to wait until she was in person, where he could see the dark look in her eyes as she spoke. Image and or presentation mattered in this town, it was a given, which Maryse had informed them all of, on the car ride over to the new house when they first arrived. She had made it very clear not to 'ruffle anyone feathers', and cause people to have a bad perception of you.

Alec had been so stupid to forget, he shouldn't have acted the way he did. But in all honesty he couldn't help himself, Magnus and William seemed to be un-denying forces that could, and quite possibly, _would _drive him absolutely insane one day. Alec had to make a choice, either to: completely devote all of his time to avoiding and shutting Magnus and William out, or attempt to make some type of amends with them just to save his name in this new town.

Whichever decision he made, he knew would only bring difficulties along the way.

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><p><strong>AN: To me, while reading the Mortal Instruments, I got this sense that Robert and Alec are very much alike (even if Robert is in the books a scarce amount). In later chapters, you will find out what is _actually _happening between Robert and Maryse, where Robert has been, and what the 'accident' was. So yeah basically, if you have a lot of questions about things, they should all be answered in the chapters to come!  
>I just realized that these keep getting shorter... I'm sorry ): ! But don't worry, Chapter ten is a monster in size already without editing or additions. (Usually when I'm editing on fanfiction, my chapters turn out to be like 1,700 words -but then by the end of all the things I add, they somehow turn into 2,700 words. I'm crazy I know..) Two days again (most likely) till the next chapter!<strong>

**Reviews would be awesome (: and thank you kindly for the people that have reviewed thus far!**

**Amber,**


	9. Every little thing

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER NINE**

_**Every little thing  
><strong>  
>"People tell me I'm lucky. Yes, I know I'm a lucky guy.<br>I remember the first time, I was lonely__."_

* * *

><p>He never called. Magnus had waited hours for his phone to ring, but alas, he never called -not that Magnus would ever admit to waiting for something so obsolete as a phone call. It really didn't matter all to much to Magnus, there was no reason for him to dwell on something so juvenile really. But in retrospect, why <em>hadn't<em> Alec called? Yes, they weren't exactly on speaking terms perhaps, after what transpired in Biology class... But they were still partners in a project, that literally wasn't, _going to do_ _itself_. There was the possibility Maryse had yet to inform Alec, that Magnus wanted him to call him -but again, Magnus doubted the option, because Maryse didn't seem like a forgetful person. Oh, how Magnus pondered many hours, wondering why? Was it because of how shy Alec was; to even have the sheer courage of reaching out to Magnus? That was another possibility, Magnus continued to drown himself in -for whatever reason, he wasn't entirely sure of. Maybe he did care... Or maybe, he was just in dire need of some late night burning drinks, and a quick semi-hookup, to relieve himself of his thoughts of that dark haired blue eyed boy. Yes, that is_ exactly _what he needed.

Now, through the dark haze of the evening dusk air, Magnus found himself stumbling along the rich dirt paths, with fine needle grass, outback, that led him away from the sanctum of his manor house, and into the deep mess of pine, spruce and evergreen. Random flickers of light peaked out behind dark shadows -animals, whose eyes sparkled in the darkness of night, like the flickering flame of a candle. The large expanse of forest ground that surrounded the whole town, weaving itself into the back yards of the many estates on the hilltops, had a disturbingly quite, and silent nature to itself. Only the somber rustle of leaves in the wind, and the constant hum of birds during the early orange and pink morning hours, gave indication that there was thriving, moving life around him.

Magnus was clad in tight electric indigo pants, which fit snugly to his legs and bottom -showing off his taught leg muscles; a cream colored sparkly mesh undershirt, and a vibrant red silk blazer, which cuffed around his elbows, and flared out at the back; at the end. His hair was spiked in razor sharp lines around his head, the tips dipped and laced with gold and blue glitter. His eyes were lined with a fine, sharp, and intoxicating shadow of black glitter, and highlighted with swatches of white shimmer. Earlier in the night Sebastian had mentioned another party to be held at the Belcourt's house, which was just across the way, from Magnus'. He would be there any minute now really; his and Camille's manors shared the same land in between their backyards. It was a good thing too that he had decided to take to the woods, instead of driving, because in the moment he decided he was ready to depart his house, he remembered the text he had gotten earlier. '_Meet me in the back woods at midnight.' _-_Could he be anymore vague? _Magnus thought, unsure of which location of the backwoods, he, would be situated at.

A damp sheet of fog settled over the moss and needle grass covered ground, reaching as high as Magnus knees -creating a disturbingly unaware feeling to hang over Magnus. He was all alone, walking through the forest, tripping and stumbling over his feet, which he couldn't even see; attempting to find, him, in possibly the most unlikely of places. Magnus cursed under his breath; he wanted to get to Camille's as fast as he could -it was never a pleasant situation to be in, walking the vast forest grounds freely by yourself. On any other occasion, Clary would have come along with him, arriving hours before at his manor, before he set out to leave -so they could get ready together. But tonight she had other plans; something about some Jace guy, wanting her to show him around the town, since he was new. _Smooth, _Magnus thought. And then, he realized that Jace must be Alec's brother -the one Alec, for some reason, had a difficulty calling him his brother.

Only a few seconds after Magnus had wandered into a familiar crescent shaped clearing, he saw a large black shadow drop from a high tree, at the corner of his eyes; creating a heavy thud to resound around him. Magnus hesitated for a moment, wondering which way out of the woods would be the safest route to take, in case that shadow wanted to attack him. Mangle him to pieces. Magnus had seen enough horror movies to know that this was the part in which you run -but he wasn't the type of person to work up a sweat over something that was most likely non-threatening in the first place. Simply, he couldn't help the fact that his mind seemed to run away on him, most of the time -and fill itself with awful thoughts.

The dark looming shadow stood from the dewy fog on the forest floor, and began to saunter its way over to Magnus, who was still hesitating -routed in his spot. Magnus squinted his eyes to obtain a clearer image as to whom was walking towards him, and upon doing so, he met familiar greedy blue eyes, and a devilish smirk which made the hairs on Magnus' neck prickle. "I like the look. Trying to reminisce the kid off of Chitty chitty bang bang?" William asked haughtily, snaking his way to the place where Magnus stood. His black hair swept professionally to one side, and a few curls of his thick hair tickled the nape of his neck.

"Oh you know I'd never be able to master that look; although I must admit, I've quite out done myself tonight." Magnus gave William a Cheshire cat grin, before holding his arms up, and twirling around once in his spot. When he turned back to face William, he was met by bleak unamused eyes. Magnus quirked his left eyebrow high on his forehead, wondering why William exuded an immense amount of disconnect -even when only in the presence of Magnus, where William was usually at the least responsive; and himself at most.

"Are you done?" William asked, gazing at Magnus pointedly. Oh, now he was just getting snippy.

"Hmm, I don't know. I think I can get a few more twirls in there -" Magnus started to raise his hands in the air once again, and set his feet into the stance to twirl -

"I wanted to talk to you," William latched onto his wrist, gently. His lean fingers merely a ghost around Magnus slim wrist. William was never one for being overly forceful -that is, physically, speaking -he was, on the other hand, definetly emotionally, and verbally forceful when he wanted to be.

"Yes, I guessed that from the message you sent earlier." Magnus shrugged out of the reach of William, and fixed the collar of his blazer, before bending down to swipe at his leather pants, with the back of his hand. Fixing his apperance was the one thing that kept Magnus mind distracted and at ease. The way William was acting made him feel less than comfortable by a long shot. "Well, I'm here. You're here. Let's not waist anymore time, I do plan on getting to Camille's before the sun rises." William rolled his eyes, and folded his arms over his chest. He was wearing a loose fitting navy polo shirt, dark washed jeans, and a sleek black coat. His high cheekbones were pink and flushed -a color that suited him well in Magnus mind.

"Don't worry this won't take long. I came up with an idea," Magnus groaned and shook his head at that, William was _always _coming up with new devious ideas. In that head of his, no one would ever dare to go, because their was a definite reason to think it was filled to the brim with sorrow, scorn, and hate. William had been a delicate person to touch base with -his past not being the greatest upbringing. Seeing as he was ripped away from his family at a young age, and brought to the home of the Carstairs; he had a reason to judge the world, and the way it worked, in a malicous manner. In many ways, each and every one of his friends had the ability to do the same; including Magnus. "It revolves solely around the Lightwood boy, Alec." There was no suprised in that. It certainly didn't take him long this time to come up with a plan against Alec -seeing as William had only mentioned an inkling earlier in the day after school.

Magnus couldn't help but shutter. "Will, he's harmless. I-I don't see the point in waisting our time on him."

"And it involves you." William continued. Completely disregarding the fact Magnus had even said a word. "I need you to try something for me. I have my suspicions about Alec, after seeing him today, I just want to prove something first..."

"What may those suspicions be? And how am I involved in this?" Magnus' tone conveyed one of being uninterested, when on the inside he was shifting out of his skin, inching closer to what William was getting at. After one day, Magnus was astonished that William could pick up anything about Alec really -to cause him to already be forming suspicions about him. All Magnus knew was... was really nothing; besides the fabulous fact that he read Shakespeare.

"That's for me to deliberate on Magnus. All I'm asking, is for you to play yourself up when around him. Don't hesitate with, how should I put this, flirting?" Magnus shot him a wide eye look, his mouth falling open. Was William asking him to seduce Alec? Did William suspect Alec was gay? And really, what was the point of it all? Magnus' mind spun in thousands of different directions haistly, trying desperately to decifer that, which was just asked of him. Play himself up? Flirt? Alec? Those thoughts just didn't seem to mix in the right way.

"What is, flirting," Magnus gulped loudly, "suppose to do?"

"I want him to tolerate and respect you. I want you to pull him in, gain his undeniable trust, affection, -and once you are there at that point... Break him. Hard, and fast." William said without remorse. His voice and steely gaze unwavering -this was something Magnus knew William wouldn't back down from, there was a substantial amount of determination that flooded his eyes, which surprisingly turned darker, almost black in the eerie moonlight shade. There was also another emotion behind his eyes, glinting a dull simmer of light -an emotion that didn't fit William at all... And likewise, an emotion Magnus couldn't decifer.

Magnus stood there and watched William, regretting coming to the woods at all. Magnus' body was ridged and hard -his lush lips pulled tightly across his face, not daring to utter a word, just yet. "Do this for me Magnus." William asked, his voice low enough for it to be a whisper. Why was he asking Magnus to do this? What reasoning did he have behind this? Magnus couldn't deny the fact that whatever William said, he usually went along with -but this seemed unruly, and uncalled for. He was worried about what this would do to Alec; to himself.

But then again, Alec wasn't his friend; wasn't someone he should be worrying about so deeply. And by not complying to William's requests, he would be setting himself up for those judging blue eyes. He couldn't give way to the fact that he was even _slightly _attracted to Alec -that was out of the cards for Magnus. One thing continued to pull at the back of Magnus' mind: Had William already sensed Magnus' small, and minuet -but still present -feelings for Alec?

"Magnus?" William waved his white palm in front of his face, dragging him away from his mind. "Will you do this for me?" He asked even more earnestly than before. Williams expression said he knew more then he should have known, which frightened Magnus to the core. Magnus nodded his head slowly up and down, then up again -pursing his full lips together in silent protest. In all honesty he didn't want to do this, but he knew he had to. It would be something unavoidable, when dealing with William -so why not just give in now? "Good." William smirked, and then began to walk to the edge of the clearing, in the direction of Camille Belcourt's estate, which was only a couple minutes walk from where they stood.

"Will," Magnus called across the short space that separated them, "what does making Alec trust me, have to do with you? What do you gain from this?" Magnus searched William's cold hazy blue eyes, finding nothing really. He gave Magnus a small smile, and shrugged his shoulders -as if it were an obvious answer, which could be answered breathlessly. "Oh, is this one of those situations, where you aren't going to tell me, because by doing so you end up protecting me in the long run?" Magnus mocked, although not playfully, rather scornfully.

"See it however you want to Magnus. Now let's go, I specifically remember _someone _telling me they wanted to make it to Camille's before sunrise." William flatly said, turning back to walk in the previous direction he was headed towards. Magnus watched as his black frame, blurred with the atmosphere around them, blending the harsh lines of his body to make him almost invisible to the common eye -at night that is. After a moment of hesitation, thoughts swimming throughout Magnus mind, relentless in slowing down; Magnus began to retreat after him, following him down the all too familiar dirt path, that led to the snow white estate.

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><p><strong>AN: This one took a tremendous amount of time to edit (Zoomg). The first draft of this ended up being like 1,200 words... And now, tuda! After taking an extra day to edit and fix this, it is much bigger and worth the read (compared to what it was before). That being said, forgive me for updating slow!  
>There already have been questions about "What's Will's problem?" and things like that. What I say to those questions is... All in time prettys, all in time...<br>Next Chapter should be ready soon! I've been writing like a mad person, and thank gosh I have three more chapters to fall back on.**

**Review (: it makes me happy. And who wants to deny someone of their happiness?**

**Amber,**


	10. I want to tell you

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TEN**

_**I Want to tell You  
><strong>  
>"I want to tell you, My head is filled with things to say, When you're here<br>All those words, they seem to slip away, When I get near you,  
>The games begin to drag me down, It's all right,<br>I'll make you, maybe next time around__."_

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><p>Dull grey light streamed into Alec's room, encasing him in a blanket of soberness, and dread. The sound of puttering rain vibrated throughout the space in uneven rhythms. Alec rolled himself over, so he lay flat on his back. He sighed before opening his eyes to gaze at the stark white recessed ceiling. <em>Another day, <em>he began to repeat over and over again under his breath -a silent mantra, that brought him both scarce hope, and looming fear.

He dragged himself out of bed, not at all looking forward to what the day may entail -but knew being late, meant a guarantee of having to sit at the back of the English class. And that was not an option. Alec walked over to his dresser, pulled out another set of dark wash jeans, black underwear, and surprisingly this time a white t-shirt. He usually stuck to dark colors, mainly so he could fit into the shadows of the halls, and make himself less noticeable by others. But today, he just felt like a white t-shirt would do justice.

After he was done rifling through his drawers, he made his way to the bathroom across the hall, and thankfully he got there mere seconds before Izzy could claim the space to herself for a long period of time. He quickly shut the door in her face as she tried to inch past him. "Alec Gideon Lightwood! You better not take a long time!" She pounded on the dark wood frame of the door. Alec rolled his eyes at that, and set his clothes upon the white and black glass tiled mosaic counter top.

"Iz, I'm not a girl, I don't spend hours in the bathroom, in front of the mirror gazing at myself." Alec replied back before turning the water on to a scalding heat: Just the way he liked it. As he stripped out of his pajama pants, and stood under the flowing stream of water, he thought back to how well things had gone last night.

That is, if you looked past the menacing glares Maryse continued to give Robert over the dinner table, and the ominous way Robert disregarded them. And if you looked past the way Isabelle completely ignored Alec for a good portion of the day and night -finally coming around, when he offered her his piece of cherry pie. She was always a sucker for cherry pie, and Alec knew that -using his knowledge to help him. He didn't like Isabelle to be mad at him, she was quite possibly the person he was the closest with, they had a bond even stronger than the one Alec and Jace had.

But then again, maybe it was because they were blood related, that made them have this deeper inner connection that he couldn't even began to explain. They knew one another inside and out, whenever one was mutely sad or depressed about something, the other could sense it. It was scary how it worked, but Alec was thankful he had someone to confide in. Jace on the other hand was his best friend, and had been since they were nine. That year, when both of them turned nine, Jace's parents Stephen, and Celine were killed in a car accident -and Maryse having known their family for a long time took Jace in and adopted him as her own.

Alec jumped out of the shower when the heat began to dilate and turn briskly cold. He dressed hastily, and quickly towel dried his hair. Gazing at his reflection in the mirror, he found himself looking decent enough -Alec had always been told that he had angelic looks, with high apple cheekbones, soft but angular jaw line, dark thick curved lashes that off-set the bright blue tinge to his eyes, light smooth ivory skin and charcoal black hair, which rested straight around the base of his head, slightly curling at the ends. He personally couldn't see what others did, all he saw was a normal guy, with freakishly blue eyes, starring back at him.

Alec made his way into the kitchen, to find Robert sitting on one of the high chairs situated around the island counter top, reading a news paper with a large cup of black coffee in one hand. Jace was rifling through the fridge, his back arched downwards, as his hips swayed subtly in the air -his blue jeans hung dangerously low on his hips. Alec looked away hastily, he hated that he was cursed with this attraction towards Jace -it wasn't fair really. Alec had enough to deal with: how shy he was, how subjective he was to those around him -this just seemed to add to the burden.

"Where's mom?" Alec regarded Robert.

"She left early for her new job, at the Bane manor." Robert answered, not once taking his eyes off of the newspaper in front of him. That was another thing Alec felt uneasy about: His mother working at Magnus' house. And consequently enough, the entire family was going over there tonight for dinner. Some type of 'getting to know your new coworker' thing. Alec was less than pleased by this -wondering what could possibly happen at dinner, sitting across from Magnus and all his glory. He couldn't hide his sheer curiosity however. He sort of wanted to see were Magnus lived, and see if he could compare the look of Magnus to his surroundings.

"Hey," Isabelle sauntered her way up to the counter, twenty minutes later, wearing a short black dress, that brushed against the tops of her thighs, and dark brown leather boots which reached the tops of her knees. Alec shook his head. "Are we going now, or what?" She asked, glancing at the old fashioned clock past Alec's shoulder.

"Mhm," Alec replied, and licked his lips, "Jace, c'mon." He said, tossing him the keys to the Jeep.

It hadn't taken them long to get to school, in fact they had been ten minutes early for the warning bell. They all parted ways once they glided up to the front doors -Jace running off to gym, Izzy swaying her way to home economics, and Alec blankly huddling in with the crowd of students, pushing his way along to English class.  
>He was met by the all to familiar bright orange door, a couple of minutes later. Alec gulped loudly, and raised his black bag higher on his left shoulder -feeling more than insecure. On a scale of one to ten, Alec was a definite ten in the passing out due to shyness and insecurities, section. He opened the door with ease, and walked into the room. The class was nearly two thirds full, and to Alec's disappointment, the whole first row, second, third, and forth were filled. The only spots left really, were at the extreme back of the room, behind Johnathan's desk, who was absent, and the desk Alec had the day before.<p>

Upon taking a lingering glance to that faithed spot at the back of the room, that he now began to march over to, not wanting to show fear or intimidation -he was met by a piercing glow of yellow-green eyes, which held a fair bit of weird uncertainty within them. Magnus gave Alec a weak smile, which was very opposite from what Alec had at least expected. Maybe the things he had said to Magnus in Biology, had actually gotten to him -making Alec feel completely and utterly terrible. Or possibly it was a charade? And in that case, Alec kept his mouth shut.

Clary sat beside Magnus, sketching wildly in her notebook -her small freckled hands moving in graceful rhythms over the white page. William was absent; _thank god, _Alec breathed a sigh of relief, and settled into the desk in front of Magnus.

Ms. Graymark started to explain their assignment, after the first bell chimmed, of researching worldly literature from the stacks of textbooks at the back of the room. It didn't take her all that long, until she excused herself from the classroom, leaving her students to the task at hand -which no one complied to, and went on turning in their seats to talk. Johnathan and Sebastian walked into class, not too long after -both draped in long black Armani and Fendi coats. Behind them followed a girl, who might have been the exact replica of a Barbie, in Alec's opinion. She had bleach blonde hair, which was harshly curled down to her waist, a tight pink dress that conformed to her voluptuous curves, and a face packed with shiny bronzer, and ruby red lipstick.

Sebastian had said something to the blonde, as they snaked their way past Alec's desk, and up the aisle, flanking around Magnus desk. She instantly giggled, an annoyingly fake laugh, and swatted at his shoulder. "Seb, you know I'm not like that," she pestered him. Her voice was just an octave too high, for Alec's likings.

"Oh, Camille, I think we _all _know that you are." Sebastian said, before ducking out of the way, avoiding another hit from Camille. After a couple of minutes, Alec felt a light tap to his shoulder; sending a chill throughout him -goosebumps sprung freely across the expanse of his arms. He slowly turned in his seat to the side, to see the blonde, Camille, had vied for his attention -and for some reason, Alec was instantly let down that it hadn't been Magnus. A small part of Alec wanted to engage in casual conversation with Magnus -somehow make amends with him, after their spat in Biology class the previous day. But he knew himself well, and knew that, that would never happen. He would never be the first person to speak up; if Magnus had wanted to talk to him, he would have by now.

"Ooo," she said in a sing-song voice, "you are absolutely delicious. Black hair, blue eyes. My boy heres," she thrusted her thumb to Magnus spot, "favourite combination. Although you're a guy..." Alec cut a quick glance to Magnus, catching those eyes almost instantly, which seemed to be watching him like a hawk. Alec quickly looked away, dipping his head down to hide the sailors blush that took place across his cheeks. _Damnit Alec, get a hold of yourself, _he scalded himself, wondering when and why he seemed to become so embarrassed and flustered in the presence of Magnus.

"Camille's right. I'm a sucker for blue eyes," Magnus shrugged and leaned back in his chair, a small smile plastered on his tawny face.

"And I'm just a sucker for anything that's tall, dark, and handsome." Camille flashed Alec a wink, which Alec returned with a nervous smile. "What's your name, blue?" She asked haughtily. Camille seemed to be one of those girls, that all the guys flocked to like moths attracted to light, because of her flirty nature and, well, 'put on display' assets -but on the flip side, probably the greater part of the female population in the school hated her; it wouldn't be hard to imagine. She was almost _too _confident and forward in the way she spoke, and acted. A quality Alec wished he could more or less possess.

He cleared his throat before answering, "Alec Lightwood,"

"Oh! I've met your brother, a charmer that one is. Jace right?" Alec nodded. "Let me ask you this," Camille scooted forward in her desk, rested her elbows on the bare expanse of her thighs, locking her pianist thin fingers together, and finally laying her round chin upon her interlocked hands. "How come you two look nothing alike, but are brothers?" _Is she being serious? _Alec thought, giving her a dubious look, as to say 'you should already be able to guess the answer'. Again from the corner of his eye he could see Magnus stifle back a small chuckle. Was he thinking the exact same thing as Alec?

"Jace isn't actually my brother by blood. His parent's died when he was younger, and my family took him in." Alec replied, and bit his bottom lip. He had to stifle back his irritation at how dim-witted a question she could ask.

"Unfortunate, but it does add to his, angle. Beautiful but forever heartbroken guy -that's swoon worthy material to work with." Camille replied, honestly -swinging around in her seat to talk to Sebastian who was behind her. Alec just looked at her, as if she were some foreign being, his mouth hanging open. Jace's parents dying, was a _tragedy_, not a blessing to get girls. There was definitely something wrong with Camille... Something very wrong for her to think that. Alec was actually astounded, starring at the back of her head, and then was snapped back to reality by long lotioned tan fingers.

Alec shifted his head to Magnus, who had a lazy smirk on his face. Oh, that face, caused Alec's heart tempo to increase tenfold. "Don't worry about her," Magnus leaned in close, almost too close to Alec's face, to whisper, "she tends to say things like that a lot." Alec had no idea what he should say, he already felt himself clamming up -and he could definitely feel a light flush crawl its way up his neck. _Why, why, why? _Alec wanted to bang his head on the expanse of Magnus desk, but thought better of it. That would only create a substantial amount of embarrassment for Alec.

And he did not want to give Magnus the upper hand, of catching onto his weakness. Magnus turned his head to the side, squinting his eyes, that were again rimmed with a flawless line of black on the top lid, and dusted with gold glitter along his water line. Somehow the green in his eyes was darkened a few shades by the black eyeliner, and the yellow gleamed in specks around his cat eyes, highlighted greatly by the gold underneath. Alec couldn't help his eyes wondering around Magnus in that moment -it was almost as if he did it absently.

Magnus' hair was done up in the same fashion it was the day previous: a thick faux hawk with a few sweeping bangs left to lay across the top of his tan forehead. However the only difference this time, was the slight tinge of silver glitter that laced the tips of his dark black hair. He was wearing a tight electric indigo t-shirt, with a plunging v-neckline, which showed off the expanse of the top of his hairless slightly muscled chest. His nails were bright purple, and sparkly, _how coincidental, _Alec thought, seeing as Magnus seemed full of sparkles and glitter today.

He was also wearing light brown pants, which were rolled up past his ankles, revealing slips of black leg hair. Alec returned his eyes to Magnus', which were now adorned with a faint trace of speculation, and worry. Quickly though, the questioning in his eyes clouded over, and returned to their normal gleaming nature.

Alec froze, realizing he took a substantially long, and obvious time to look over Magnus. "Oh god," he sighed loudly, before clapping his hand across his mouth. Had he just said that out loud? Magnus quirked his left eyebrow high on his forehead, as his smirk grew. "I mean, oh god, like, uhh, if she says things like that a lot, then oh god, I have to try to stay away from conversations that could entail that, yenno?" Alec stuttered at the beginning, rambling quickly, so he could turn his head, and hide his blush.

Why had he been cursed with smooth ivory skin, where everyone and anyone from a short distance could see the faintest red that usually settled on the apples of his cheeks. He heard Magnus chuckle from behind him, and then heard the squeak of Magnus' desk shifting behind him. Hot breath washed over the back of Alec's neck, "You get flustered very easily," Magnus whispered in a sultry voice. The hairs on Alec's neck stood attentively, at the proximity of Magnus behind him. He swore he could almost feel the ghost of Magnus' lips at his ear -causing him to suck in a sharp breath, to settle himself down.

"How could you tell?" Alec gingerly asked rhetorically, laughing for a brief moment. He could feel Magnus smile, right before the bell chimed above them. Rather quickly, Alec shoved his textbooks into his bags, and stalked his way out into the hall. Before he could get any further than two feet from the bright orange door, he felt a cold hand encircle his wrist, lightly pulling him backwards.

"Hey, sorry I didn't say anything to you in class. I was just really into what I was drawing," Clary beamed brightly, her hair pulled into two thick red braids, and a light brown fedora hat on top of her head. She was wearing a long flowing faded light brown and blue skirt that reached the ground, with feather designs splashed across it, and a baggy grey v-neck shirt. When Alec looked at Clary, he saw someone who was a natural hipster, who was also an artist, and someone who was determined and thoughtful.

How the hell was she Jace's type. Quite possibly, she was the exact opposite of what Jace looked for in girls. Alec was astonished, trying to wrap his head around how Jace could have even been _Clary's _type. They seemed to be the most opposing people he had ever met. Well that is, if he didn't count Magnus and himself.

"Oh, no it's fine. Drawing would be much more interesting, than talking to me," he shrugged in all honesty. He wasn't that unique; there was nothing quite special about him in his mind -besides the fact he could play soccer, surf and the guitar -that is, when he felt like it. Other than that, he would never be able to compare himself with Isabelle and Jace. Jace being naturally good at everything, surfing, soccer, and every sport imaginable included. And Isabelle, a dancer, with years of training and an expert at jutes and pirouettes -even if she couldn't cook, Alec knew that one day she would get there, with her sheer determination. That was the whole point of enrolling herself in Home Economics in the first place.

"C'mon don't think like that," Clary latched her arm around his, looping them together. "After one day, you've seemed to catch the interest of some of my friends actually. And that's hard to do." She said, dragging Alec along the halls through the swarm of people, to history.

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><p><strong>AN: Told you it was a monster of a chapter. I just realized that I write so much more, when Alec and Magnus are interacting... hmm...  
>Oh yeah, it will be explained I guess why Camille was not present in English the first day, and why William wasn't there (But those don't really matter all to much, do they?)<br>I will be on a sort of hiatus for three days... so there should be an update in four days. I apologize now, in advance for the terrible wait. Stay strong, pony boy (:  
>As a side note, do any of you read Hush, Hush? I am planning to make a one-shot of Patch and Nora, and I hope some of you consider to read it (: !<strong>

**Review, rhymes with view, and rhymes with mew... and I'm not neccessarily sure where I am going with this. (But review anyways [;)**  
><strong>Let's get it to 75! (and maybe, just maybe, I might push to update sooner...tehe)<strong>

**Amber,**


	11. Run for your Life

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER ELEVEN**

_**Run for your Life  
><strong>  
>"Well you know that I'm a wicked guy, and I was born with a jealous mind<br>And I can't spend my whole life, Trying just to  
>make you toe the line<em>_."_

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><p>Magnus stepped out of English, making sure to leave three minutes after Alec did -as William had said to do. In William's mind, to make this plan work, he needed to be absent for that English class -whatever reasoning he had behind that, Magnus didn't know. Instantly as he rounded the first corner, William was there in all his glory, uprooting Magnus' passage to his next class. He had his arms snaked across his ample chest, and was leaning against a stone pillar that rested near a long stretch of a stark white wall. Students around them, moved like liquid molten lava, flowing constantly, and slow - in clumps together. They all shifted their way around William and Magnus, leaving them be to their conversation. It wasn't as if anyone would actually stop, and take a gander, at what they were discussing -but then again he never knew who could be lurking around a door, easing themselves in on their conversation.<p>

"How did it go?" William asked skeptically, his deep blue eyes trained to Magnus'.

"I don't know if you realized this yesterday, but I doubt you did... He is an utterly bashful person, that doesn't take too kindly to me. I could barely get a full conversation in there, much less get him to face me while talking. Maybe we should forget this -"

"No." William cut Magnus off hastily, his eyes turning a deeper, darker, more sinister shade. "He'll come around. Trust me. Just try to _play it up. _Remember don't hold back, Magnus." William gave him a stern look, before pushing himself upright from the pillar, and sweeping past Magnus in the opposite direction. Magnus couldn't even begin explain the dread he felt in having to do this. Sure he wanted to become closer to Alec, he had decided that earlier this morning, when he woke up feeling as if he were somewhat elated to be seeing Alec again. But, he wanted to get to know Alec, in a completely natural way -rather than on false pretences, and upbringings. Magnus knew that there would come the day, when Williams plan would come full circle, and he just hoped that it would be easier then he had begun to anticipate -for Alec; for himself.

Magnus wouldn't let it get that far -that was his main plan. He would attempt to gain Alec's trust, but if Alec didn't comply, and open up... Well that would be one thing Magnus was willing to keep hidden from William. It's not as if Magnus even deeply cared for Alec, really he barely knew the guy. It was just the simple way his bottom lip trembled with anxiety whenever he became flustered, or the way his delicate angular eyebrows furrowed together during moments of hesitation, or how crimson and scarlet red his cheeks would flush -those were the things, which caught up with Magnus conscience.

Alec Lightwood was breakable, in Magnus mind. But _how_ breakable was the real question. Now, depending on the course of events to play out, everything would definitely shape and affect Alec's being for better or for worse -although seeing as this plan was made to ultimately hurt Alec, it could only end terribly, of course. Why was William making Magnus do this? Better yet, why had he agreed to go along with this? If Magnus was to think long and hard, the only options as to why he obliged was either: Because deep down, somewhere Magnus couldn't quite deliberate; he had a form of feelings towards William; feelings that shouldn't be there... And didn't usually hesitate, on doing whatever William had told him to do. Otherwise, the remaining explanation would be that if he showed resistance to William, on a plan that shouldn't affect Magnus in such a huge way, William would begin to speculate numerous things about Magnus -and why he seemed to care for Alec, in a way he couldn't elaborate on, already.

Another thing, which gnawed at Magnus mind, was the fact William was insinuating Alec was gay. What other reason would William have for telling Magnus to 'play it up' and flirt with him. Speculating someone was gay, and essentially going in for the kill, was always a fragile situation to touch base on. However... Magnus couldn't deny the slight but significant leap in his chest, at the thought. Alec was something else, really; he had a special quality to him that was so enduring and gravitating. A quality that Magnus was greatly drawn to -as if he were the flies that surrounded the pigs head, in Lord of the Flies. As if he were Macbeth, and held his sheer desire to obtain, that which was not his, but was promised. And that was basically what this situation was; a promise from William, that Magnus would get to spend time, with something he desired... Even if, Alec, was a very small, small hidden desire of his.

And that god damned white t-shirt Alec had on today, which fit snugly to the frame of Alec's torso -showing off the strong muscles which lined and coiled his back and chest. Oh, did it ever do a number on Magnus' hormones. Not that he would _ever _admit that; but he was crazy attracted to Alec -even if his outfits consisted of nothing but plain colors, distressed dark blue jeans, and beat up cream colored Levi's.

Magnus made his way to the band room, which was located on the far east side of the Academy, shoving thoughts of Alec, and William to the back of his mind. Thankfully band was away from many of his friends classes, he didn't have to risk them seeing him along the way, and wondering where he was going. The class was nearly empty -never full. There wasn't many students at their school who took fascination in an instrument. Mount Western was known for their outlandish sports academy, and art program -two things, Magnus would never be good at. He couldn't draw a simple cat, for the life of him; let alone play some type of sport, which would cause him to perspire. Magnus shuddered at the thought.

He spotted the halo of bright silver hair, which rested in regal waves, and the tall, lean body of James, bent over to open his violin case. Magnus smiled, knowing that if there was ever one person in the world that could make him smile, and or make his day that much better, it was James. He was wearing a grey stripped long sleeved shirt, black straight legged jeans, and gleaming orange suspenders. _Typical Jem, _Magnus thought, as he walked up to him.

Clary knew Magnus read books, and James knew he played the piano -but that was as far as it went. And those two, were the only ones he let in, because he knew they could be the least judgeful of the bunch. Of course Magnus and William were the closest, but not necessarily the type of friends that shared things about their lives with one another -more so, shared moments together in the now.

"Band class was just not the same without you yesterday, Jem." Magnus shock his head from side to side, thoughtfully, and placed a tentative carmel hand on James' shoulder. James smiled up at him, and after releasing his violin from the confides of its case, stood up straight -not nearly the height of Magnus, but still quite tall.

"I would have been here, had it not been for the radiation. I guess Will didn't tell you guys," James shrugged nonchalantly; which caused Magnus to cringe. Upon arriving to pick up William the day before, Magnus had just suspected that James was to take his own car to school. He didn't stop to think that really, William could have gotten a ride with James instead of him.

James had always been so open and carefree about his cancer with all of them -in some way, he explained that it made him not feel weak to something that he was soon to conquer. Of course he was afraid sometimes, when his brittle bones shook under the weight of the circumstances; but showing that fear would only make the reality that much harsher, in James mind.

It had been three years since James was diagnosed, and it had been three years of vigorous radiation he had to handle. Many times, Magnus and William had to comfort James when his sickness took a toll on his body, and he retched up more than half of his weight. But now, as of the last couple of months, James was now anticipated as a survivor; and the shape had finally returned to his body and face.

He had been told that soon he would be home free; as long as he was there for regular check-ups every once in a while. Magnus could remember that day so vibrantly, because the glint and shine returned to James' liquid silver eyes, in a way they never shown before. He was a survivor, and that was all every last one of them ever wanted.

Other than Magnus, James was William's best friend -they indeed lived together, and when living with someone you become accustomed to the things about them; learning to trust and love them. But even if William and James were best friends, he rarely ever told him of his elaborate plans and schemes, because they always seemed to worry James. He left his schemes and plans for Magnus to endure, knowing he could bear the weight of them on his shoulders -while James could not. William would never deliberately leave James out of the loop in scorn, rather he did it so James couldn't get worked up. He cared for James in a way, that none of them would ever be able to understand. He was always protecting him from things he didn't need to be shielded from. But that was William's nature; because when you care for someone so much, you do whatever you can to protect them from harms way, even if they didn't need and or want it.

"So tell me, has anything interesting happened so far?" James pried, as he took to tuning the fragile strings on his violin. Magnus had yet to take his spot in front of the black lacquer grand piano, which was nestled at the far back of the room. "I know, it's only been two days really," he chuckled briefly.

"Will hasn't said anything to you?" Magnus asked quizzically, tilting his head to the side, in wonder.

"You know how Will is." James gave Magnus a pointed look before continuing. "But I could definitely tell something bothered him before he left for Camille's last night." James assessed, and sat down on one of the many grey riser steps which lined the room. All around them now, the few people that were in the class, began to tune their instruments, and settle their sheet music upon their stands.

"Okay, so," Magnus eagerly said, and sat down beside him, "there are three newbies that just started yesterday. Jace, Izzy, I believe, and Alexander. I only really met Jace this morning, when Clary and I walked over from the gymnasium -and I saw Alexander walk through the front doors with the sister. Alexander somehow got on William's bad side yesterday in English... And I seriously have no idea how..." Magnus leaned in close to James, "mind doing some dirt Jem? Digging some information out of Will?" Magnus whispered, and raised his left eyebrow high in question.

"For you, I'll try," James returned with a bright smile. "It's quite uncharacteristic of Will, to dislike someone _so_ fast. Tell me more about this Alexander."

"For starters: He likes to be called Alec. Charcoal, black hair, darker than mine, and suspiciously bright lake blue eyes. Tall, just a couple of inches shorter than me, which says a lot. Very easy to get a rise out of; blushes like a mad man, it's pretty adorable -" Magnus caught himself at adorable, and didn't continue on. Turning his face away from James, a fraction to his left.

Mrs. Morgenstern, or Ms. Fairchild as she liked to be called during class, bounded into the room, nearly stumbling her way over to her music stand in the front of the music room, with a stack of paper in her freckled hands. A tangled scarlet bun rested high on her head, with a small pencil sticking out sharply at the end. She was adorned in a grey painting smock, with bright vibrant colors of purple and neon green splashed across it. As well her arms were marked with different colors, and a small strip of orange crossed from the apple of her cheek to her ear. Clary's mother was the schools art teacher, and music conductor.

Firstly, successfully, known for her amazing art work, which was sold at high auctions around the world, and secondly, barely, known for her key sense of sound and rhythm. "Today will be a free day! Take out whatever sheet music you intend to work on, and have at it." She announced to the class. Magnus could hear a few 'woots!' from the back of the room. Her eyes were bright and livid; she was definitely stressed over whatever class she had minutes before. "Now, if you'll just excuse me for a couple of minutes..." Mrs. Morgenstern shuffled through the snow white papers she held in her hands, and before leaving the room, gazed up from under her fiery bangs, to glance towards the spot where Magnus and James sat, and gave them a bright smile.

Obviously being best friends with her daughter, Clary, and son, Johnathan, would gain them respect. "Do you plan on playing the violin today Jem? Or should we just skip out, and head over to Dante's, for an early lunch?" Magnus asked, bolting straight up from his seat, grabbing his black Marc Jacobs bag.

"Hmm," James arched his feather like pointer finger under his chin, "I believe, I prefer the latter," He smiled, and placed his violin back into its case along with the perfectly rounded cream bow. "Let's go before she gets back. She won't miss us too much -I believe we would be seeing her fairly soon in the next couple of hours tonight, and over the weekend anyways." James smiled, and shrugged on his black bomber jacket, which laid on the step just behind him.

"Mhm, tis' true -the weekend part. I happen to have previous engagements tonight," Magnus added a bit half-heartily.

"You have a date? I thought you were over being in a relationship, after what happened with that one girl, Willow?" James gazed at him earnestly; concern faintly lacing the silver of his eyes. Oh, witches like Willow always set his nerves running wild. Dating someone who was just as equally into their looks as you were, was never a good combination. Magnus shuddered at the mention of Willow.

"No. Well, not unless you count, two parents, and three kids as a date..." Magnus chuckled, as they made their way out of the classroom, and out the front doors of the Academy.

"I would definitely count that as a date," James joked, a little too honestly.

"Well then yes, Jem, I have a date with a rather gorgeous family."

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><p><strong>AN: I hope that when reading this you get the sense that Magnus is deeply confused at the beginning, and flips back and forth between different view points of his own. It's hard to write like that, lol.  
>AND woah! 75 reviews (: (of course I had to update sooner, you guys are awesome!)<br>Also, Willow = Woosley Scott, essentially. Because I did want Magnus to have a past relationship, that wasn't neccessarily Camille. (But it couldn't have been a guy, in this case.) And I hope you guys like Jem! He's just a very carefree person, that is loving, understanding, caring, and will do anything for his friends.  
>Now, I don't exactly know when the next update will be... So bare with me!<strong>

**Review prettys! Let's get it to 1000! Or else I ain't continuing. (Totally kidding, i love you guys, I wouldn't do that.)**

**Amber,**


	12. This Boy

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWELVE**

_**This Boy  
><strong>  
>"That boy took my love away, He'll regret it someday,<br>But this boy wants you back again. This boy,  
>this boy, this boy<em>_."_

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><p>"Sex. Basic life function, used mainly for the purpose of reproduction -in which I hope each and every one of you abides to..." Hodge took a deep breath, and shook his head; the glasses on the bridge of his nose sat unevenly. "Abstinence is key. I can't stress that to you kids enough. Sex at this age, leads to destroyed feelings, mangled hearts, and unwanted complications." He continued to express the importance of sex with the class, although for the most part, everyone had tuned themselves out while he talked; and Alec, being Alec, shifted uncomfortably in his green lab stool. Alec was slumped forward onto the black top of his and Magnus' lab desk -trying desperately not to glance at Magnus from the corner of his eye.<p>

Alec could almost sense Magnus watching him, with steady yellow-green eyes, waiting patiently for Alec to give in. It was menacing, and set Alec on edge for the record. He battled with himself internally, he could either, turn and catch Magnus' eye, but that would only bring an immense amount of embarrassment for him -or he could stay as he was, his eyes trained in front of him. Both ways, he wasn't winning. "Even if I warn you kids about the different scenarios that can arise -I know basically 90 percent of the students in this classroom, are going to have sex anyways. So," Hodge squatted down on the balls of his feet, and rummaged through boxes and paper under his lab work table at the front of the classroom. Upon standing up, Hodge held a medium sized cardboard box in his hands, he fixed his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and took a deep sigh, almost as if what he was about to do was deeply troubling. "I am going to pass this box around to all of you. Just take one, and I mean it, _one. _It is a precautionary step, of the school, that I must give these out. Then we are going to go on and talk about safe sex."

Alec watched as the pale brown cardboard box was shuffled across the rows of people. Each student quickly taking something from its contents, and snickering to the person beside them. It was frustrating sitting at the exact back of class, and having the faintest clue as to what could be in there. He had his suspicions however, and was praying that they weren't right.

When the box had finally made its way to Magnus and Alec's lab bench, Magnus reached inside and took out the contents: Condoms. What Alec had been expecting and likewise dreading. It was as if, this day was full of embarrassment for Alec. The box was split into four sections: A section for extra small, small, large and extra large. Alec couldn't help but note that Magnus grabbed a handful of extra large gold foiled square packages; and when he passed the box to Alec, he gulped back the painful embarrassment that rose within him. His cheeks flushed hotly, as if he suddenly burst into flames.

"It's never a bad thing to be _overly_ prepared," Magnus whispered with a wink, that Alec could see from the corner of his right eye. Alec weakly smiled, nodded his head, and straightened his back in discomfort. He quickly swiped a large gold package out of the box, and shoved the box forward to the bleach blonde girl in front of them. Not daring to say anything to Magnus; let alone look at him again. "What? You don't agree with me?" Magnus mused, stretching his torso forward, so his elbows rested on the table top, just shy of Alec's. The shrill coldness of Magnus' skin wafted off of him in waves of frost, tickling the smooth fine hairs along Alec's forearm. He was so close, that Alec cold smell all the different scents of Magnus; some type of berry soap, mint, and a faint sheen of sweat.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Alec nearly whispered, hanging his head low, between his braud shoulders. Seemingly that was his go-to move as of late.

"Keep doing what, Alexander?" Magnus tilted his head quizzically towards Alec, practically forcing him to stare into those intoxicating yellow-green cat eyes. Alec swung around in his chair, determined to hold a shred of composure in front of Magnus. He should be able to do this -there wasn't any reason that he was unable to. Yes, Magnus was intimidating, and oh so confident -which wasn't something hard to miss. But Alec could be the exact same way, if he truly put his mind to it. Besides, it was a bit easier without the presence of Magnus' friends around them; it was this added weight that lifted instantly when he was only with Magnus.

"Acting as if we are friends. I don't know you, you don't know me. And quite frankly, after yesterday I thought you wouldn't _want _to get to know me." Alec bit the inside of his left cheek hard, starring blankly into Magnus' unrelenting eyes; as Hodge continued to talk about today's lesson about safe sex.

"Like I said before, I don't dwell on trivial things. Are we going to have to rewind, and do introductions again? Hello I'm -"

"No. Really, it's fine." Alec cut him off, and twisted back around in his seat to focus on Hodge. His head was turned even more so, so that he wiped out even the faintest image of shimmering glitter, thick black hair, and tawny smooth skin. Hodge went on to talk about different diseases, which quite readily freaked Alec out, and about ways to prevent them from happening -abstinence being the main vocabulary used, in exactly ever sentence Hodge uttered. Really, that wouldn't be much of a problem for Alec. He was a seventeen year old virgin, which was not that big of a deal in his head -he wasn't looking to save himself for marriage, but rather for that one person that it just felt right to do it with. It was definitely not because he was _frigid _like Magnus had suggested; he would gladly jump someones bones in a heart beat -that is, if that person meant a great deal to him.

Now, if Jace or Isabelle had known he was a virgin, he would have been mocked for countless hours. Jace had a track record of covertly seducing the many beautiful girls in their school back home, and as much as Alec didn't want to think about it, Isabelle had her own record too. Hodge finished talking, and prodded the class to begin working on their 'getting to know your partner' project again -Alec groaned, knowing there was absolutely no way to weasel his way out of talking to Magnus. There was only two reasons Alec relentlessly wanted to avoid the mere presence of Magnus at the present moment: One, Magnus was disastrously confident, which set Alec on a shallow edge of nerves, being as fatally opposite as he was. And two, the thought of Magnus sent warm tingling tremors along the planes of his body -a feeling he both hated and loved. Magnus' voice; low, mused and musky -his body; lean, tall, and faintly muscled -his eyes; a blazing disarray of the summer marshes reflecting bright glints of yellow sun rays -All, of these qualities caused a random heat of electricity to flow through Alec continuously.

Breathless silent moments passed between Magnus and Alec again. Everyone around them fell into a pattern of asking questions, and answering -easing into the prospect of getting to know their lab partners.

"I like the color yellow." Magnus timidly said, catching Alec's attention instantaneously, after a couple of minutes. "Well, actually a canary type of yellow to be specific." Alec smiled to himself, remembering that, that question was what started their hateful and or scornful banter the previous day. "How about you, lovely?" Magnus hummed, and tapped the tip of his pencil atop his note book -which was still covered with scattered extra large condoms -the soft almost silent beat he was making held an enormous amount of rhythm; a slow mournful rhythm that is. Even his humming had a specific harmony to it, that matched the tapping of his pencil. It was almost as if, the sound his pencil was making, was intended for a different form of instrument -one that held power, but at the same time, resistance.

"Uhh, black probably." Alec shrugged, his lake blue eyes still trained on Magnus' pencil. "You play an instrument don't you?" He gestured with his own ball point pen, to Magnus' pencil, which was bounding up and down in regal waves. Magnus instantly stopped his absent minded tapping, and dropped his pencil as if it were something to be ashamed of.

"And why would you think that?" His thick eyebrows furrowed together, dipping low to his eyes -which were filled with contemplative thoughts. Or at least, in Alec's observations, that is what he concluded.

"The melody you were making, an-and the way you held your pencil so... I don't know, delicately? Between your fingers as you did so." Alec was still subjective to stuttering, "I'm betting drums or piano. Most likely pia -"

"I don't play anything." He dismissively interrupted Alec. "I guess I just have a keen sense of rhythm." Magnus said, as his cat eyes wavered and dilated substantially. Shivers ran along Alec's arms. _How the hell could he dilate his eyes, that way? _It was nevertheless fascinating, and captivating -causing Alec to lean closer, wanting to get a better look at those eyes. Magnus raised his eyebrow in question as their faces inched closer to one another, but Alec didn't take notice -completely mesmerized. Their faces were so close, that their breath mingled hotly with one another -Magnus' smelling of sweet spearemint, and Alec's hot cinnamon. "Do you play anything, lovely?"

"Why do you keep calling me lovely?" Alec squared his expression; snapping to attention, and shifted back from Magnus. His cheeks flamed with subtle embarrassment. "And yeah, I play the guitar." He sheepishly answered, as an after thought.

"Mmm, I don't know. It just suits you." Magnus half-smiled, his lips quirking up to the left corner. "Let me guess, you're into bands like Iron Maiden, Soundgarden, and... Nirvana?" Magnus quirked his eyebrow again. It seemed to Alec, that Magnus' eyebrows had a mind of their own -they moved in extremely suggestive manors.

"How does it suit me? I would prefer you called me Alec..." He sighed. "And, yes, yes and yes. I'm surprised you could guess my favourite bands without really knowing me." Alec offered a weak, ginger, smile to Magnus. He softened his eyes, easing into talking to Magnus; without the hostility, of the Biology class the day before.

"You're one of those predictable at ease classic rock type of guys, in my mind." He shifted his stool closer to Alec, their knees bumping together. "Dare to prove me wrong Alexander?" Magnus asked haughtily, an eager smirk played at his lush lips. If lips could be dazzling, Magnus had that trait down -Alec could stare at them for hours, if he let him, and if Alec wasn't an extremely self-conscience person. They were luscious, full and seductive; the corners were slightly raised into a permanent semi-smile, and the color a vibrant tan pink shade.

"I'm definitely not at ease," Alec whispered to himself really, his eyes falling slack to the image in front of him, but Magnus had caught what he had said, again giving Alec a dubious glance. Alec held his hand up, and gestured to his face, creating an air circle with his finger to outline it. "Sailors blush," he added, knowing there was no way to beat around the bush. "I'll always have it,"

"Both a curse, and a blessing." Magnus fluttered his thick eyelashes for a brief moment.

"How so?" Alec bit the right corner of his bottom lip; and watched as the yellow in Magnus eyes, turned to a darker shade of amber. Magnus took a deep sharp intake of breath, as if he was attempting to restrain himself from something. His chest, which was greatly showed off by the deep v-neck of his electric indigo shirt, rose and fell unsteadily.

"Because, I'll know when you are embarrassed." Magnus smiled briefly to himself, "and because it compliments your skin, _oh so well_," Magnus purred. Alec gulped at his uncertainty, and again turned in his seat to stare straight at the front of the room, to where the dark black boards met his gaze. His face got hot, not because he was embarrassed, but definitely for a whole other reason, which he much rather hide from someone like Magnus...

"Uhh, what's your kind of music?" He still stared in front of himself, not wanting to know, what locking eyes with Magnus once again, could entail on his body -on his mind -on his emotions. Magnus' eyes determined everything for Alec in that moment, which quite readily annoyed the hell out of Alec -mainly because of the fact that he would let himself be affected by Magnus in this way.

"Classical. Mozart, Beethoven, Henry Purcell, Franz Danzi." He began to list of the names of people Alec had never heard before; other than Beethoven and Mozart. "But then again, I am one for clubbing music, and gritty, _dirty, _beats." The way Magnus subjected his voice to utter the word, dirty, sent heat running freely along Alec's skin -pure unadulterated heat, rather than the sweet shivers Magnus voice usually gave him.

"You have to play the piano, I just know it." Alec began to smile gingerly, attempting to change the tone and mood their conversation was beginning to lean into.

"Mmm, nope." Magnus said, the smile dissipated from Alec's face readily. "So, tell me about your family." They continued to flip back and forth between topics. Alec couldn't complain, because it always set them up for continuing -rather than awkward silence.

"My mom, Maryse just started working for Clary's father, and well your dad. But you already knew that..." Alec squared his shoulders. "Robert -that's my dad, he just got into town yesterday actually,"

"Where was he?" Magnus pried. Alec gulped loudly, and clasped his lips tightly together, his eyes darting wildly to different corners of the room, avoiding Magnus' dominating glower.

"Uhh, th-that doesn't matter." He replied, gnawing on his bottom lip; and as he did so, he noticed Magnus shutter faintly. "Jace is my adoptive brother, and Iz is my baby sister -I don't know if you've met her yet. Will has..." Alec muttered the last statement to himself, low enough for Magnus not to hear. He felt anger seep into his skin, and boil within him, at the thought of William and Isabelle even talking. "What about you?"

"No siblings. My fathers name is Gerald, and my mothers name was Palmer." Magnus answered quickly, getting to the point within a blink of an eye. One thing however caught Alec's attention in his fast explanation...

"Was?" Alec tilted his head to the side, his expression confused and wondering. Magnus had said, was, for his mothers name. That implied, that she was gone. Did it not? Magnus didn't even seem to flinch. His face was calm and hard, unnerving, and his eyes unwavering and steely. The only change in Magnus, that Alec could detect, was the way he absently fiddle with the hem of his shirt, straightening the edges out perfectly -a quirk that could indicate nervousness for most people. But Alec highly doubted Magnus was nervous; it just didn't suit his demeanor.

A second later the last bell rang, giving Magnus solace -not having to reply to Alec's questioning. Both Magnus and Alec packed their bags slower than usual, for whatever reason, they were both unaware of. Magnus having to swipe his handful of condoms into his black backpack, and Alec sheepishly stuffing his single condom into his back pocket. Magnus began to make his way down the isle, flanked by rows and rows of now empty black lab benches, he partially twirled his body to face Alec again, and upon doing so started to walk backwards, not bothering to know if anything was in his way. "See you tonight Alexander." He winked, his dark lashes creating a spidery shadow atop his cheeks; just before retreating out of the door.

Alec froze, and stared at the door Magnus had just left moments ago, incredulous to how well the day actually turned out to be.

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><p><strong>AN: Keep in mind that Magnus chooses to keep things about himself hidden from Alec (such as the fact he actually does play the piano) on purpose. Everything and anything has a reason behind it (: This was another one of those insanely short chapters that started out as 1,700 words (i-ka-rumba) but thankfully, I took the extra time and effort to revise a bunch a things, and add a bit more dialogue into it. (Still -sorry for the five day wait!)  
>The dinner scene won't be in the next chapter, but the one after the next one after that. (Holy chiz that was confusing, eh?) Remember, this story will be <em>long, <em>and is meant to play out as a normal and natural timeline of their lives. Yes there will be times when it is 'two days later', but still, I like to create a sense of verisimilitude in my writing.**

**Review, because it makes me happy, and spurs me to continue on.  
>Let's get it to 100!<strong>

**Amber,**


	13. Yellow Submarine

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

_**Yellow Submarine  
><strong>  
>"In the town where I was born, Lived a man who sailed to sea,<br>And he told us of his life, In the land  
>of submarines<em>_."_

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><p>Alec marched in steady long strides out of the front door of the Academy, making his way towards the parking lot, where the white Jeep was situated perfectly at the back. The sun had finally came out by the end of the day, causing the air around him to have a blistering hot heat; it was moist as well -moist enough to make his white t-shirt stick to the planes of his back. "Hey!" He heard shouted from his right, as a dark figure sprinted their way over, to where Alec was. He turned, and was partially blinded by the glint of light that reflected brightly off of Simon's glasses. "Haven't seen you since yesterday, dude."<p>

"Yeah, I guess we don't have any classes together," Alec shrugged. In the distance he could see where Simon had ran from: The Shadows, as he had once mentioned to Alec, stood starring at them for a beat too long. There were definitely people he didn't recognize at first glance; a guy with gleaming silver hair which caught the light of the sun in fantastical waves, a tall girl with brown hair that was attached to his side, and two guys that looked oddly identical except for one having brown hair, and the other blonde. However, Alec did recognize Camille, Clary, Johnathan, and Sebastian standing with the group of people.

"Your name is Alec right? Clary told me." Simon smiled. A genuine smile. He was a good, honest, trustworthy guy, Alec decided in that moment. Just by gazing at him, you could almost see the sincerity within him. "We were wondering if you wanted to come to the old boat docks with us, now. Just to chill and hangout," He pointed over his shoulder to the group of people. Alec couldn't help but feel as if, they, were the most intimidating people that went to the Academy. Just by the way they dressed, screamed words to others that they were _not_ here on scholarship. And the way they held themselves, with chins high, chests out, and backs straight. Most, if not all, of them walked with a sort of effortless grace, and when one of them walked into a room -everyone's eyes mediated towards them. They were extremely fascinating to look at, no doubt, and as Alec began to learn quickly, they were also extremely fascinating to talk about. In almost every class, Alec would accidentally over hear conversations about 'The Shadows'; some rather scornful and others desirable.

"They're, The Shadows, right?" Alec asked, slowly.

"Yeep," Simon shrugged nonchalantly. He was wearing a dark black t-shirt, with the lines 'Knock Knock, Who's there? Doctor. Doctor who.' pasted on the front in contrasting bright red font, with an image of an old england telephone booth underneath. Alec was beginning to gradually like Simon's choice of t-shirts.

"I thought you said they were the snotty rich kids, that lived on the hills." Alec raised his eyebrow at Simon skeptically, his tone accusing, but playful at the same time -a small smile tugging at his lips. Simon laughed, and raised his fist to his mouth.

"I did say that didn't I?" He smiled even wider into his fist. "And it's true, most of them are. Don't tell them I said that though, or for sure they'd boot me out."

"I won't." Alec looked past Simon's shoulder again, and caught Camille's eye. She gave him a subtle wave, and a quick chin nod of her head; licking her lips precariously slow. _Oh god, _Alec thought to himself. Johnathan glanced at him as well, in that moment, and gave him a predatory scowl, as if to say 'I don't mind you, but if you mess with her, I'll kill you.' Sebastian smiled, his characteristic lopsided grin that showed off just how pearly white his teeth were. Even if Alec didn't know the rest of them, they seemed okay enough to approach -and this was his chance to fit into some type of hierarchy within the school system; which he was not going to let up. "Sure, I'll come, but I can't stay long-"

"Okay, cool. I'm pretty sure your brother is coming too, Clary mentioned something like that." Simon said, with a definite forced recognition. Alec knew that look, and that tone of voice, all too well -Simon had the exact same problem, it seemed, with Clary and Jace supposedly becoming closer to one another, as Alec did. The only difference was that their roles were opposite: Simon being notably jealous of Jace, and Alec, of Clary. But in some sense, Alec was at a greater level of hiding it -he had to become accustomed to working his way around his envy over the years -and in that respect, had become very good at denying those emotions.

Simon began to walk back to the group. Alec followed in tow, and as they were walking towards them, Jace joined his side, almost knocking him over.

"You're coming too?" Jace asked, his hair shining greatly in rays of gold atop his head.

"Yeah, did you text Izzy?" Alec asked, and noticed faintly, how Simon's ears fluttered to the sound of 'Izzy'.

"Mhm, I gave her the keys to the jeep. Let's hope she doesn't get lost, or get herself killed." He hastily said, as they finally stood in front of the group.

"Nice, Jace." _Now, I'm going to worry. _He wanted to add, but thought better of it.

Jace left Alec with Simon, and went to stand beside Clary; snaking his arm around her waist, in a subtle manor. She looked up to him, with her bright emerald eyes, her red braids partially falling apart under her fedora hat, and smiled brightly. He leaned down, and placed his lips softly on her rosy pink cheeks. Something Jace would never do. Usually, by now, it would have been a full make out session with any other girl, despite the large group of people around them. This was extremely uncharacteristic of him, and Alec couldn't help the sudden feeling of jealousy bubble up in the pit of his stomach, like an erupting volcano. He also noticed the dominating scowl, that crept its way up Simon's face.

"Guys, this is Alec," Simon nodded mainly to the people Alec hadn't had the chance to meet yet.

"Tessa," the tall girl with brown hair held out her polished hand to him kindly. Alec smiled wearily, maybe he couldn't do this... He wasn't comfortable anymore with the amount of people around him, that he didn't know. They were bound to see through him, and see how absolutely nervous he was. Alec usually worked better with getting to know people individually, rather than in groups and clusters of people. It was easier that way.

"James," the silver haired guy said, "but you can call me Jem." He finished with a smile, his almond shaped silver eyes squinting at the corners, and to Alec's surprise he pulled him into a gentle hug. He felt weightless to Alec when their chests were crushed together; almost as if he were made of feathers. "So you're Alexander. I've heard a bit about you," Alec blushed of embarrassment at that. James released him, and grinned at him warmly.

"Gideon," the tall, bulky, dirty blonde haired guy said, nodding his head politely at Alec. "And this is Gabriel, my brother." He stuck his thumb out to his side. Gabriel sharply smiled at Alec, as if his presence didn't affect him whatsoever, and within the blink of an eye the sharp smile was gone. Alec felt like cringing.

"Are we done with the introductions now? I would love to get down to the boat docks, before old man Penhallow comes to kicks us off." Camille lazily said, flipping back her harsh bleach blonde curls over her left shoulder; showing off a great expanse of very bare, spray tanned skin.

"Yeah, lets head out now." Simon agreed; Gideon, Gabriel, Sebastian, and Johnathan took off, in the direction of the parking lot, hopping into a bright indigo sports car. They reved the engine a couple of times, a sweet puring sound -before they took off speedily. "Alec, you can ride with Jem and Tess. Trust me, they don't bite." He added, in a whisper, to Alec. "Jace, Camille and Clary will come with me." Alec smiled and nodded. As long as he wasn't in a cramped car with Gabriel, who didn't seem too accepting of him; or Camille, who would gladly seduce him in the back seat -he was fine. The rest of them began to retreat to the parking lot, and James led him and Tessa to a vintage punch buggy, made of stark white gleaming material.

Alec starred at it in awe. It was a beautiful car, and excitement fluttered inside of him, that he would have the honour to ride in it; sitting atop the plush vintage red seat. James came to stand beside him, watching Alec gape at his car lovingly. He held out his hand to Alec, palm up, the keys resting in the middle of his long lean pale hand. "Do you want to drive?"

Alec caught himself, and shuttered. "No. Uhh, that's fine. I can't... I..."

"Oh, don't worry about it. If you can't drive that's okay." James said, and rounded the front hood of the car.

"No I can drive... It's just... I... Never mind. Sorry," Alec sheepishly apologized for his moment of stuttering. Memories flooded his mind like wild fire in that moment, encasing him in a ton of dread and longing. He quickly shook off the effects, and brought himself back to reality.

"No problem," James smiled warmly again, and hopped into the drivers seat. Tessa, who had been surprisingly quite, shifted into the back seat quietly. For some reason, when Alec first saw her, he dubbed her to be the ultimate guys-girl - seemingly fitting in effortlessly with all the guys around her, not all too concerned with the way she looked or acted. She _was_ pretty though, with light brown hair that tumbled in waves over her skinny figure, and grey eyes that faintly resembled storm clouds on late may afternoons. She was wearing a light white summer dress, with yellow designs splattered across it, and white vans -even if it was raining that morning, she seemed at ease with whatever she was dressed in. Maybe she just didn't have anything to say to Alec.

Alec opened the door, sat down in the passenger seat, and breathed in the fresh vintage scents of the car. This was absolute heaven to him. He wasn't a car fanatic per-se, he just loved the look of antique things, and this car was definitely vintage chic. Even the hum of the radiator was soothing, and consistent. After a few minutes of driving, Alec realized why he felt at least slightly at ease: William and Magnus hadn't been with the group, and consequently weren't going to the boat docks. Or so he thought. He really wouldn't have minded Magnus to be there, or at least that is what he tried to tell himself. Somewhere between the last block of the day and exiting the school doors, those sweet tremors he felt along the planes of his skin dissipated. He couldn't tell if he was mournful of happy at that loss of that feeling.

Alec, however, _would_ have minded if William went.

"Where'd you move here from?" Tessa called from the back seat.

"East coast, Oble." Alec replied, watching the evergreen trees pass by in a blur of color. Alicante was proving itself to be beautiful to Alec; each time he went to a new places.

"I've been there before, absolutely wonderful waves. You board?" Oh, yes. She was exactly what Alec predicted. Guys-girl. The sound of her voice, so nonchalant. The fact she surfed, breathtaking. Not too many girls even dared to surf the waves back home.

"Yeep. Practically everyday, I'd take it out for the drift, to do some barrels." Alec turned back and grinned at her. She returned the sentiment, with her own sweet knowing smile.

"Jem here, hates to board. Tried to get him to do it once," Tessa leaned forward in her seat, and shook her head, patting James on the shoulder. "He completely wrecked on the tide." She giggled, her eyes squinting in the corners. "It was a cute attempt though,"

"I'm just not cut out for the water." James replied playfully, glancing at Tessa through the mirror overhead. His pale eyes glittering with happiness.

"Oh, trust me. I know. I can't even get him to go swimming," Tessa gave Alec an incredulous look, shifting her big grey eyes back and forth between Alec and James, gesturing to James as if he were some type of foreign alien. Alec laughed, a throaty laugh.

"Have you seen the water down at the boat docks yet, Alec?" James asked, shoulder checking as they came upon an intersection close to the main district of Alicante's downtown. Everything here was updated, and fresher.

"Nope. Jace, Iz and I just stayed around the house, and the woods for the most part of summer." Alec answered honestly. For awhile, after they had moved to Alicante, Alec had no idea the ocean was so close to the town. When he had found out, him and Jace had vowed to go down there at least one day of the summer, but never got around to it.

"Well, you'll _see_ why I won't go swimming with her. It's disgusting, filthy water." He said a bit sarcastically.

"Nah, you're just scared of the water Jem." Tessa added, with a smirk; gazing at him with that same type of happiness he had in his eyes when glancing back at her. It was heart warming really, seeing James and Tessa interact-even if Alec barely knew them. They possessed the utmost happiness and calmness around each other-a situation Alec wished for himself one day. When gazing at Tessa, one of Alec's favorite poems seemed to pop up in his mind;

_'She walks in beauty, like the night. Of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that's best of dark and bright. Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellow'd to that tender light. Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impair'd the namless grace.'_

"How long have you guys been together?" Alec blurted out loud. Biting his tongue in regret, he chasaited himself -what if they weren't _together? _He was being way to forward with his speculations...

"Two years-" James began.

"-Twenty-seven months." Tessa finished. She widened her eyes at James statement. "What, has the past three months meant nothing to you?" She folded her long delicate arms over her chest, and set her mouth into a hard line. James leaned over, and turned his head to Alec as they came to a stop in the road.

"It's been two years, three months, and eight days, since the first time I knew I loved her." He said lowly, and cut his eyes sideways at Tessa, smirking. Alec turned back to see Tessa gazing out the window, a high flush resting on her soft cheekbones; but nevertheless there was a permanent smile on her face. "How about you Alec? Anyone back home? Or is there someone at the Academy that has already caught your eye?"

_Yeah, Magnus, _Alec instantly thought within his mind. Wait... When did those types of thoughts scuttle their way into his head? A silent shiver crawled up his spine at the thought of Magnus; he could get lost in the thought of Magnus if he really wanted to -but he always willed himself not to, because by doing that he would lead himself into bigger revelations about who he truly was. Revelations he didn't want to go anywhere near, anytime soon. "Not really." He opt. out, and shrugged; biting his lip feverishly, just in case his voice let it slip that someone _had_ caught his eye.

"You'll find someone, soon. You've got the looks that have probably attracted the main portion of the girls at the Academy. Homecoming is just around the corner." Tessa reminded Alec of the bright, glittery poster he had seen in the hallway the day before. _Doubt it, _Alec said to himself -being conflicted with his attractions towards Jace, and now _Magnus, _there was no hope in using someone to help aid him in getting over those.

"He could always go stag. It's no big deal Alec," James said, turning out into a large grey slate parking lot -which over looked the ocean. It was a staggering sight to see; the ocean stretched for miles and miles, fresh deep blue water, with flecks of sun rays glistening off of the oceans cover. It definitely wasn't somewhere you could go surfing in, more of a harbour, for the dozens of colorful fishery boats that were nestled along the far left of the brown wood boat docks. If Alec had known that this was what lay on the flip side of the downtown district, he would have spent his whole summer here. It was truly a beautiful mirage-like image. "We'll hangout with you at homecoming, Tessa doesn't like dancing that much anyways." James snapped him out of his reservoir.

"Yeah, that would be nice," Alec said stepping out of the car. He looked around the parking lot, catching the image of the bright indigo sports car, Sebastian, Johnathan, Gabriel, and Gideon all standing around it, and the black four-by-four turf truck, that Jace, Clary, Simon and Camille climbed out of. What he didn't expect to see was a gleaming red Noble M600 parked just beside. And upon taking a further inspection, squinting his eyes against the harshness of the suns rays, he watched as two figures emerged from the low car, and went to stand with the rest of the group.

Magnus and William.

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><p><strong>AN: One more chapter (after this one) and _then _it will be the dinner scene. Sorry, I just wanted to get a bit more Magnus and Alec in there before I went ahead with it; also I wanted to switch it so the dinner scene was in Alec's perspective (: [The poem is by Lord Byron, by the way. One of my favorites]  
>I shall tell you this now: I love James Carstairs to pieces, he is my all time favorite book character, beating out Jace Wayland, Robin Goodfellow and Patch Cipriano for that spot. I hope you liked Tessa! To me, while reading the books, it just made sense that she gets along better with guys than girls, in my opinion.<br>As a side note, I will begin writing the Patch and Nora One-shot called: Angel, Baby -today! But then again, it won't be up for probably another week or so, because I am attempting to juggle this story, that one-shot, and art projects -while trying to read six books.  
>And hey, give me a shout out, if you want to see my drawings (: I don't mind posting them on my page for you to see!<br>And! (Holy my Authors notes are getting long...) Wow, 100 reviews? You guys sure do know how to make a girl blush. Like what? This is crazy! I didn't expect to have so many people actually like my story, I'm truly thankful to those of you who have.**

**Review, or no coco for you.**

**Amber,**


	14. Strawberry Fields Forever

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

_**Strawberry Fields Forever  
><strong>  
>"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.<br>It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out.  
>It doesn't matter much to me<em>_."_

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><p>Magnus had to admit that he always loved the soft innocent putter of a cars radiator. Preferably his own car, in which the hum resounded throughout the whole space, creating an uplifting harmony, that took over Magnus' senses, whenever driving through the city scape. William was sitting in the passenger seat next to him, typing away feverishly on his sleek black iPhone. They were on their way to the boat docks, just as a quick drop by -seeing as Magnus had a 'dinner party' to prepare for later that night -otherwise, they would have stayed there all night. Gerald, his father, had specifically told him to be home at the latest five, so they could go over a few things before the Lightwood's arrived.<p>

The little drop by at the boat docks was to loosen Magnus' stress, and nerves essentially. Drinking with everyone in the broad daylight, on old man Penhallow's boat, was always a very entertaining thing to do; and today was the perfect opportunity for that. Magnus lived for his memories -whether they were good or bad; he thrived off of the false light it gave him. For sure, his father was going to give him hell when he got home, smelling the alcohol waver off of him, in crisp streams -but Magnus could really care less about that. He had endured worse things, for even worse circumstances than drinking.

After classes had ended, Magnus and William darted from the school, beating out any of the commoners traffic down to the authentic districts of downtown; past the re-vamped, and old districts. Quite readily it was Magnus' favorite part of Alicante to visit, besides his and his mothers lake. He knew everyone and anyone that worked at all of the little shops and bistros on the block; it had a cozy atmosphere to it, very inviting -everyone at ease. Almost all of the people down there, Magnus could call family -only because after they moved to the hilltops, Sarah and Olive would take him on their escapades to the hair dressers, and Italian bread shops -eventually the owners warmed up to Magnus, and likewise Magnus had invited them into his soul -to a degree.

Once he and William had made it down to Sage's rusty bar, they asked easily for a quarter pint, bottles of tequila, and a couple of mickeys, for the boat docks. Knowing the bar owner, always came with its benefits. Magnus could walk into any one of the shops, on either side of the authentic districts' one way street, and be greatly welcomed in with warm, familiar, loving arms.

Now they were headed on a narrow dirt back trail, which would lead out into the grey slate parking lot of the boat docks at its end. "Did Biology, go well?" William asked, never releasing his eyes from his phone, as he continued to text. His attention was elsewhere, that much was obvious enough.

"Yes, I got him to _actually_ talk to me," _thank gosh, _Magnus thought, as an after thought. It was definitely worth the effort to talk to Alec, and it was also equally worth the effort to dart around certain things he hadn't wanted to discuss with Alec -just yet. Playing the piano was one of them. It was always a touchy subject for Magnus -seeing as his mother taught him everything he knew, and just that sheer thought made it difficult for Magnus to even be in band class, let alone play. James was supposed to be the only one who knew, because he could trust James in that way. He didn't need another person to divulge himself into -really this plan was for the purpose of Alec trusting _him, _not the other way around.

Likewise he had to struggle around the topic of his family; speaking briskly and huskily. He didn't think Alec would have caught the 'was' in his statement, but low and behold Magnus found out that Alec was a very observant and tentative person. Unlike William, here, sitting beside him, half paying attention to his phone, and the other half, to Magnus.

"Then things are going well -on plan." William smirked to himself, and shoved his phone into the back pocket of his black jeans, bucking his hips forward in the air to rise out of his seat. "Any plans for tonight, Magnus?" William asked, as they came around a sharp bend in the road. Magnus cocked his eyebrow high on his head, and skeptically looked at William, for a beat too long, before realizing he had eluded to the fact that the Lightwood's were coming over to his house for dinner.

"Oh, how could I forget. The Lightwood's are coming over later tonight, for dinner. Basically the reason why I need this brief drinking spree." Magnus shrugged nonchalantly rounding off into the vast expansure of the grey slate covered parking lot, which opened up freely, to the image of the fresh deep blue water ocean. The sky was absolutely cloudless, and a bright dazzling blue -just looking at it, reminded Magnus of his blushing blue eyed boy.

..._His_? When, and how did thoughts like those break through, into his mind?

"When were you going to tell me that?" William straightened his back, and unbuckled himself from the seat, as they came upon their destination to stop. Magnus parked the car next to the bright indigo sports car -where everyone was standing in front of. Except for James and Tessa.

"Does it really matter all that much?" Magnus sighed, turning off his car, and stepping out onto the grey top. "Where's Jem and Tessa?" Magnus called over to Camille, who was leaning against Simon's black four by four turf truck, now, Johnathan hovering over her. She was standing next to Clary as well, who was surprisingly attached to the hip of a tall golden haired boy. Magnus had to take a moment of pondering to realize that, that was Jace. He had only met him this morning, and Jace was definitely hard to forget, but seeing as Magnus' mind was stuck on lake blue eyes and a crimson flush -it seemed that nothing stayed in his mind for too long, before it was overshadowed by that.

"Over there," she tilted her chin suggestively to the far left side of the parking lot. Magnus turned his head sharply to the left, to find James and Tessa walking towards them, hand in hand -both smiling and laughing freely with one another, as they always did. But what caught Magnus' attention, and quite nearly caused everything else to drop out of view, was Alec. "Damnit..." Magnus hissed under his breath. He needed time in between intervals of seeing Alec again. Quite readily he was shocked that the plain image of Alec, once again, took the breath right out of his lungs for a brief, almost insignificant moment.

His charcoal black tosseled hair, whipped wildly in the oceans crisp cool breeze momentarily, shadowing his eyes. His white shirt gleamed in the sunlight, making it hard to stare at him for too long -but Magnus did anyways. "And so the plot thickens," William came to stand beside Magnus, regarding Alec as well, with his arms folded over his chest, and a devious grin plastered to his face.

"Shut up." Magnus scowled, not liking having William and Alec in the same place at the same time after school hours. In any other case it would have been fine. But since the circumstances were risky -where one person wanted to destroy the other -this was not good. "Don't say anything to him. Stay away from him, Will." Magnus warned, catching his deep brooding blue eyes under his gaze -and holding them firm with his own, to convey his warning.

"Don't worry about it. He'll probably avoid me like the plague anyways. Otherwise it's all fun and games," William scoffed under his breath and chuckled to himself.

"Hey!" Tessa said as they neared the group. "Magnus, Will, you know Alec," Tessa tilted her head to the side gesturing to Alec who stood beside Jem -Alec, who also, had a very permanent pissed off look on his face. He was not happy to see William, and possibly Magnus? Although, Magnus didn't want to think that he was the cause of Alec's expression.

"Oh, we _definitely _know each other," Magnus suggestively said. He did have to put up an act around William, that was one thing he couldn't skirt around. The rest of them, would have their questions obviously -but those explanations could wait for a later time. Alec raised his head in one swift movement, as Magnus spoke -his eyes widening, lips dropping slack open, and a bright scarlet flush staining the ivory skin of his cheeks. Magnus winked, and made sure that no one else had seen it -because then he would have a lot more problems to deal with.

"How nice of you to grace us with your presence, Alec." William smirked, largely and extremely sarcastically. "I really did begin to miss you,"

"Don't, Will." Magnus hissed low under his breath, turning his head to the side, in attempt to make himself heard only to William.

"Oh c'mon Magnus. I'm just having a bit of fun. Right Alec?" William cocked his head to the side, and raised his right eyebrow high on his unblemished forehead. By now, everyone besides Gabriel, Gideon and Sebastian, were intently paying attention to their little exchange.

"Right. Fun." Alec replied sheepishly, shuffling his feet in front of himself, rather nervously. Another quirk of his, that Magnus found quite endearing.

"What was that, Alec? I don't think I heard you," he placed his hand in a cupping position around his ear, leaning forward on the balls of his toes.

"Enough, Will!" Magnus semi scream-whispered; boring his eyes straight through William, hoping it would lace his heart with Magnus' anger.

"He said, yes William." James cut into the conversation, studying William, with strangely calculating silver eyes. Magnus knew that glint to James' eyes; he was searching a way to make some form of justice or reason, as to what tempted William to behave in this manner. "Why are you acting like this?"

"I was only asking Alec a question. Who knew there was any harm in that."

"Hey, Will is it?" Jace unlatched his hold on Clary's tiny frame, and walked over to stand next to Alec. "I don't know what the hell your problem is, but he doesn't need to answer any questions from you."

"Soooo," Camille clasped her manicured hands together loudly, jerking every ones attention towards her. She was attempting to divert the path in which the conversation deemed to be heading towards. And Magnus was very thankful of that. "Should we get this started? Old man Penhallow, does have a mean stride with that cane of his. I wouldn't want to stick around long enough to see what else he can use it for,"

"Oh god, do you guys remember that one time last summer, when John passed out, and no one picked him up?" Sebastian snorted, returning to the group, reminiscing on one of the greatest nights of their lives. The rest of them laughed at will, also remembering the ramifications of that one boat trip -and consequently dissolving away from the current mood in the air.

"That wasn't funny." Johnathan snarled, baring his teeth slightly, his eyes black as night, even in the full sunlight of the day.

"Yes it was John," Clary giggled to herself. She sauntered her way up to her brother, stood in front of him -his towering body overshadowing her petite frame -and pat him lightly on the cheek twice, "try not to pass out again." If it were anyone other than his sister that touched him, he would have gladly shoved them or punched them in the face. Thank gosh there was a shred of conscience in Johnathan, a conscience that unfortunately their father Valentine did not possess.

William went around to the trunk of Magnus' car, and with the help of Johnathan and Sebastian, brought out only some of the alcohol, and started towards a faded cherry red fisherman boat, nestled along the far end of the docks. James, Tessa, Clary, Jace, Camille, Simon, Gabriel, and Gideon, followed the crowd earnestly, all goofing off, and talking to one another about plain nonsense. Before Alec could get any further, Magnus latched his hand around his warm forearm, and pulled him back.

"I've got a couple of packs in the backseat. Mind helping me, lovely?" Magnus drawled, gesturing back to his car. Alec gave him a hesitant look, as if he were internally battling with himself, if he should do it or not.

"Sure, why not?" Alec smiled, a bright white smile. His eyes were less hesitant than they were before, with everyone huddled around. Was it just Magnus' perceptions, or did it seem as if Alec was much more open and confident, when not around a large group of people? If so -Magnus had to come up with newer ideas on how to get him alone, other than their Biology class. They walked the short distance to his car, and in the back seat was a couple bottles of smooth baileys, hard Smirnoff, and ice cool tequila.

Alec reached inside, the coils of muscles in his arms hardening as he lifted the bottles with ease into his muscled arms. "Do you drink, Alexander?" Magnus asked, as he too, shared in the load, and closed the shiny red door swiftly with his foot.

"Nah, I can't really stomach the taste of it that well," Alec shrugged his shoulders, as they began to walk towards the small fisherman boat, which everyone by now was inside of.

"That's a shame, because if there's one thing, you should know, about hanging out with our group -it's that we are _amazing_ drinkers." Magnus lightly chuckled, eliciting a small laugh from Alec as well.

"I'll just need to stay away from those situations then," Alec returned, and gazed into Magnus' eyes. Magnus had seen blue eyes before, obviously, more than one of his best friends had blue eyes -but somehow Alec's were far different than the rest. They reminded Magnus so fondly of his and his mothers lake in the winter, and how the white cloud covered sky tainted the color of the water to a striking hazy blue tone -and when the sun would peak out of the clouds, it created the speckles of light that rimmed Alec's pupils. It was crazy how detailed his eyes were, even if Magnus was staggeringly terrible at art -he would draw and or paint Alec's eyes any day.

"Lovely, you're walking head first into one of those situations, _right now._"

"Today's an exception. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I didn't even think you or Will was coming -"

"Shame is it? I bet you were wishing we didn't show up." Magnus teased a bit, but his words were said truthfully. If anything he couldn't blame Alec for not wanting to see William, or him for that matter.

"No -yes, I mean -no, I guess I wanted _you _to come, but not Will..." Alec trailed off, and bit his lip feverishly, his eyes calculating, as if what he had just said would be offending. The way Alec bit his thin pink bottom lip, sent an indescribable heat to course throughout Magnus -he couldn't define this heat for the life of him; all he knew was that, on more than one occasion he has had to stifle back a couple of moans, which would bubble up hotly in the back of his throat, whenever Alec gnawed on his lip.

"Understandable. Will _is _quite intimidating." Magnus nodded his head in silent agreement. They were coming up to the washed out brown boat dock, which paved a path for them to the red boat at the end of the way. The boat bobbed lazily and subtly against the waters edge.

"I don't find him intimidating," Alec more-so said to himself, but not quiet enough that Magnus couldn't catch it. "He just... just _hates_ me -I think. And I have no clue why. You should have seen him today Magnus, in my math class. I felt like cringing into myself at the glares he kept giving me. He's just awful, always whispering to Johnathan about whatever it is that he says, while blatantly starring at me. And back there at the cars, just now -" Alec breathed, a shaky sigh. Not as if he was about to cry, because he seemed like a person that didn't show that kind of raw emotion, but rather as if the mere thought of William, absolutely frustrated him. "And I know I shouldn't be saying this to you, because you're his best friend and all. But I don't know -I-I just, feel as if I can tell you that." Alec stopped in his tracks, causing Magnus to stop as well. At that moment, Alec looked so vulnerable, it caused Magnus' body to shutter.

Surprisingly Magnus was fully intent on what Alec was saying, there was no doubt about that. It was a weird sensation for Magnus, he wasn't the type of person to keep himself divulged into conversations that long. Usually he zoned himself out, right up until the end, where he could reply, and the person wouldn't suspect a thing. But with Alec, he felt as if he _needed _to listen; his body and senses ached to hear the sound of Alec's voice.

"Is that weird?" Alec continued. "That, I, uh, feel as if I can trust you with that?" He sheepishly smiled, not baring his pearly whites. His angular dark eyebrows were furrowed together upon his creamy milk and ivory honey forehead, in apprehension.

"Well, we _are_ friends now, aren't we, lovely?" Magnus smirked, and narrowed his eyes in a sultry way. He could see William obscurely watching them from one of the many boat windows -the whole charade needed to be put into motion once again when they stepped through the boat door. Alec gingerly nodded his head, and his eyes brightened two shades lighter.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

"So you can trust me." Magnus insisted. "Come on then, we have minimal time to waste before dinner tonight." Magnus ushered Alec before him, as they stepped onto the boat. A happiness Magnus didn't think would ever exist within him again, hummed a very dim, almost insignificant hum, in his chest. Even if it was small, it was still present -and it's presence made Magnus feel at least optimistic for what the near future might hold.

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><p><strong>AN: You guys have waited long enough for the dinner scene... I know. But guess what? It's the next chapter to come pretty's -And I've been working on it like a mad woman, but, it won't be up for a few days. (Just remember, that the dinner scene isn't going to be the biggest scene ever! Lol, there's still Homecoming, the Bane Banquet, and a few other events to come.. so hold on for the ride!) But, it is a monster in size. I am currently going back to touch things up, and it's already at 3,500 words... (and when I say touching things up -that's not even my definition of what I do to 'edit' these chapters -weird right?)  
>So this chapter was just to ease into the idea of Magnus and Alec, sort of accepting the fact that they could be friends; and about learning a bit more about Magnus' life in Alicante. I hope all of you get the sense that this isn't being too rushed, I mean, for gosh sakes it's been -what, fourteen chapters, and they're just becoming friends? (Am I being too cruel with the long waiting until certain points?)<br>Also... I love your reviews. I read every last one of them, and I just get so happy, you have no idea. I will tell you this now: I am currently writing, Castles Made of Sand, Angel Baby, my own novel of the sorts, and drawing like a mad woman... It's getting a bit busy! But I will try to keep everything under control so I can update on schedule. Have faith in me (:**

**Review! And in the next Authors note, I'll include a little snippet of one of the future chapters (;**  
><strong><br>Lets get it to 150!**

**Amber,**


	15. Tomorrow Never Knows

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

_**Tomorrow Never Knows  
><strong>  
>"Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream, It is not dying, it is not dying.<br>Lay down all thought, surrender to the void, Is it shining? Is it shining?  
>That you may see the meaning of within, It is being, it is being.<br>Love is all and love is everyone  
>Is it knowing?<em>_"_

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><p>Humongous. Gigantic. Enormous. Towering -the list could go on and on, when describing the outer appearance of the Bane manor. Alec looked to it in awe, watching faintly from the corners of his eyes as Isabelle and Jace starred in wonder as well -their mouths dropping slack open. The estate had that raw secluded grand cathedral atmosphere to it. Everything was black -from the intricate carvings around the base and shindlings of the roof top, the large carefully scattered black spiral pillars, to the obsolete waxy, black, wood front door. The only thing that it didn't have was sky scraping watch towers -if it did, it would come pretty damn close to replicating the design of the St. Cajetan Church -a darker replica of it however.<p>

It was flanked in a semi-half crescent shape, by clusters of pine, and evergreen trees -the ground bedded by a lush carpet of dark moss, and perfectly cut green grass. The driveway was equally as big in ratio to the lot; coming up the way from the gravel street, and then curving into a full circle around a marble stoned fountain, with the statue of a weeping fallen angel on the top, palms facing upwards to the sky. Alec's breath caught in his chest. This had to be the most outlandish estate there was in Alicante -he had never seen a house of this magnitude.

"Pick up your chins. We didn't come here to gawk." Maryse said, from Alec's side. He looked to her, and had to marvel at the way she appeared. Her hair was curled effortlessly into delicate black waves, resting feather-like on her strong shoulders. She was wearing a deep sea foam green dress, which stopped just below her knees, and was cinched at the waist by two gleaming silver broaches. For some reason, she wore the pearls their father, Robert, had given to her years ago -even if they weren't necessarily on speaking terms with one another. During the time he had been gone, Maryse never dared to go near anything he had ever bought her; but now that he was back, things were changing.

"You expect us not to gawk at a house like that, Maryse?" Jace raised his hand and pointed his nimble fingers in the direction of the estate. His liquid golden eyes still attempting to take in the image in front of him -as they all were.

"It's mom to you, _Johnathan Christopher,_" Maryse tried to sound stern, but there was a hint of teasing in her tone. "And yes, no gawking, it isn't proper." She turned to Alec, then, and began to fix the light grey blazer he had on; her hands swiping over the edges, once, twice, and then they moved on to the white button down he had on. "I really wish you would've ironed this before we left, Alec." She chastised him, sighing pointedly to herself.

"Got home a bit too late for that," Alec smiled over his shoulder at Jace, who gave him an equally cocky grin.

"You two still haven't told me where you went." Maryse shook her head, and tsked under her breath.

"Wherever they went," Isabelle walked up to Alec, and slung her arm around his muscled waist, hugging him close to her very little-clothed body. "I'm sure they had a _very _good time," Isabelle winked up at him from under her long eyelashes. When Jace and Alec had gotten home, Alec recounted the couple of hours they spent on the boat, drinking and hanging out with everyone, to Isabelle -even if Alec didn't take more than two sips of a baileys, he still had an amazing time. The only problem he had with the time spent on the boat, was how he had to be very persistent in avoiding William at all costs. Which was quite the accomplishment in its own -seeing as the size of the boat was no bigger than an average living room space.

But nevertheless, Alec could take away from the situation good memories, and a few new wonderful friends. The Shadows weren't exactly what they were made out to be -sure they liked to indulge in the expensive and superficial things in life -but more than half of them were as normal as anyone at their school could get. Alec could connect with almost all of them, on a certain level; besides Gabriel, Gideon, and Johnathan really -those were the ones who were a bit hard to work over.

"Oh, you bet we did." Jace said haughtily from Alec's other side. Maryse furrowed her structurally angular eyebrows at her kids, angrily. She knew for certain that they would keep that information to themselves, and that she couldn't win. In any other circumstance it would have been a given to tell there mother where they had went, but really -telling their mom that they spent the day on a boat which they broke into, drinking to have a good time -was not a very good idea.

"Okay, we're all set to go," Robert walked over from their car -well his car technically. He was wearing a ashy dark blue suit, with a grey button down, and shiny black formal shoes. In his large muscular hands, lay three containers full of different pies, marmalade, and a chiffon cake -for which they brought as a sentimental offering. Alec highly doubted, just by seeing the outer exterior of the house, the car Magnus had, and the way he dressed -that the Bane's wouldn't have tons of desserts of their own.

"Did you make sure to grab the cake?" Maryse squared her expression at Robert. Alec hated seeing their mother act so abrasive towards their father, who didn't truthfully deserve it... Or did he?

"Yes, Maryse." Robert said exhaustively, shrinking his shoulders down.

"And the strawberry-rhubarb pie?"

"Yes, Maryse." Robert instantly replied, like a robot set on auto play.

"And the -"

"Mom, I'm pretty sure dad got everything out of the car." Alec cut her off, before she could continue to belittle Robert, in front of them all. Maryse huffed slightly, and turned on the balls of her toes, and stalked her way -somehow gracefully -to the black front door. Robert and Isabelle fell into step behind her, walking short brisk steps.

"When did you learn to grow a pair?" Jace stood directly beside Alec, their shoulders almost matching each other. He had his muscular arms wrapped over his chest, slightly curving his back. Jace was clad in a dark black pinstripe suit, with an faintly striped grey and white round necked t-shirt underneath. His golden locks were still slightly fresh and damp; dripping dots of water over the shoulders of his suit.

"Huh?" Alec replied.

"Interrupting mom, _especially _when she's been on edge for the last hour," Jace chuckled lowly, shaking his head from side to side," is never a good idea, bro."

"I just wanted to get inside faster, and not stand out here all day." Alec suggested, taking long hasty steps in the direction of the door. The staircase was a hard slippery black marble, with random scattered flecks of light grey patterns interwoven in the material. It almost resembled the look of a midnight sky littered with swatches of dark grey almost non-existent clouds.

"You and I both know that wasn't the reason." Jace whispered low enough for the rest of the family not to over hear, as they came to stand beside them on the threshold of the Bane manor. Maryse reached out, and pulled the brass lion shaped knocker off of the surface of the black door, and let it hit home, once, then twice. Within an instant a small pudgy woman with golden hair, and deep chocolate eyes opened the door. She was wearing a plain white apron, and upon inspection of what lay behind her, she might have been the only speck of light in the house.

"Oh! Do come in! Don't want you standing outside for too long, before the rain meanders its way back 'ere." She had a sweet southern accent, which seemed to match her demeanour perfectly. "I'm Sarah. But I guess I don't need to introduce myself to you, Mrs. Lightwood," Sarah ran her hands along her apron, either smoothing down the wrinkles, or wiping her hands. She instantly stuck her hand out to Robert who had to juggle the dishes of desserts in one hand, and her pudgy fingers in the other.

She gave Isabelle a tight hug, and studiously commented on how her bones felt so brittle. It wasn't hard to miss the fact that Isabelle was all height and legs; skinny in the waist, but precariously busty around the hips and chest. She could have been a model with her looks really.

Sarah went on to greet Jace, who complimented her on her eyes. Alec rolled his eyes at that, Jace was always one for making subtle flirty impressions on people. "So you're Alec," Sarah stood directly in front of him, and smiled, a hidden message type of smile up at him. "I've heard some things about you." Alec narrowed his expression at that; _How had everyone been hearing about him? _He faintly remembered that, that was exactly what James had said when they first met each other in the Academy's parking lot earlier that day. Again, he couldn't help the light flush, which settled on the apples of his cheeks.

Sarah led them through the door, and now they were standing in the middle of a grand foyer, surrounded by harsh dark cherry wood wall panels. Upon walking in, Alec was instantly hit with the image of the grand staircase, which stretched down on two sides, curving to the center around its base. The ceilings were ominously high, it felt like stepping into a vaulted church, with its intricate designs along the trim of the ceiling and floor. There was also a studiously large chandelier, which dangled like silver fire upside down in the air, directly above the grand staircase. Alec could imagine what the space could feel like, and look like, filled to the brim with people walking around, and talking, sipping crystal glasses of champagne.

"Again," Jace said, his voice vibrating off the darkened walls. "You seriously expect us not to gape? Have you gone mad woman?"

"I expect you to hold yourselves with grace, while we are here." Maryse lowered her voice to a whisper, "Valentine and Gerald, _are _my new bosses. Impressions, are needed to be great and worthy of high praise."

"Will do mom," Alec said, his blue eyes still feverishly trailing around the room, attempting to map out every nook and corner. He was essentially committing the inside of the house to memory -for whatever reason.

"Ah, Maryse," a deep baritone voice called from their right side. They all instantly turned -a bit shocked -towards the sound. An exotic looking man, with tawny golden skin, eyes ripe green, hair a slick stream of faded black pulled into a sharp ponytail, and a black on black suit -like what William had worn on the first day -stood where the sound had emitted from. He had a pointed smile on his face, and his palms turned upwards, just like the weeping angel statue outside. He resembled Magnus so closely; you wouldn't be able to mistake that this was his father. But then again, there was something about how sharp Gerald's features were, compared to the likes of his sons almost delicate planes to his face. "I am greatly humbled of your family joining us for dinner."

His voice alone, scared Alec immensely. Even if he was putting on the front of a pleasant formal dinner host; Alec could see straight through the exterior, and into the soul of a disrupt and or corrupt man. "Oh no, the pleasure is all yours. We are very humbled that you would invite us over." Maryse grinned warmly. "This is my son Alec," she shoved him forward, placing her small hand on the centre of his back. "Jace," she repeated her motions; and instead of pushing Isabelle forward, she gripped her arm, and pulled Isabelle to her side. "And my lovely daughter Izzy."

"Achanté," he bowed. And for quite possibly the fifth time in one day, Alec had to hold back rolling his eyes. "My name is Gerald Bane, and as you may have met him at the Academy, my son Magnus should be joining us shortly." He looked past them all to the large staircase behind, as if he was anticipating for Magnus to walk down the stairs that instant. Alec followed his gaze, and was met by nothing -Magnus was not standing at the top of the stairs; and at that realization, Alec felt instantly disappointed. "Follow me, we can start without him. He rather hates salads anyways."

They all walked silently after Gerald, through a large rounded archway, which was followed by a long wide extremely high ceiling dining room. This house seemed to one up itself every time you passed through into a new room. Surprisingly -given the demeanour of the outside, and inside of the foyer -the dining room was stark white in contrast. From the narrow crystal white table, which ran the whole length of the room, to the walls and marble floors. There was an equally large chandelier, which quite ideally matched the one which stood over top of the double grand staircase, in the center of this room.

The table could easily seat fifty of more people; it was almost like those dining halls you saw in movies like Marie Antoinette, where the tables were as big as to match the size of a third of a football field -or at least to Alec, that is what it resembled. "They've got to be the richest people in Alicante," Isabelle whispered to Alec over her bare shoulder. Alec was sure Gerald heard it, the way that this room seemed to echo even the faint sound of his shoes hitting the marble floor as he walked, gave indication that Isabelle's words had travelled.

"My house keepers, Olive and Sarah should be out soon with the salad. I do hope you like arugula, and sweet ginger." He gestured for them all to sit around the middle of the table, where dark scarlet colored place settings were neatly laid out. It looked like blood was trapped in structured shapes along the white pristine color of the table. _How fitting, _Alec thought -seeing as he found this house to parallel an old haunted vampire church, of the sorts.

Gerald and Maryse sat across from Robert, Isabelle, Jace and Alec. Exactly in front of Alec, was another set of place settings, which matched the rest -laid out for Magnus. "So, Alec, Jace, do you two play any sports?" Small talk. It tended to make a situation less awkward, but not in this case.

"I play center forward," Alec replied quickly.

"Soccer?" Gerald quipped, placing his large tan hands under his chin almost too delicately.

"Yeah," Alec mid-shrugged, but then stopped himself, seeing the look on his mothers face from the corner of her eye -realizing that shrugging was really not proper etiquette. "Jace plays goal," Alec tried to deflect the attention from himself, and onto Jace. He felt more than uneasy with those ripe green eyes focused on him.

"-And wide receiver in football." Jace added, smiling his dazzling white smile.

"I am aware that Mount Western has a wonderfully excellent sports academy. Both of you must be trying out for some of the teams, yes?" The way Gerald spoke, held so much finality within it; he was so sure of himself, and what he was saying. He wasn't at all modest, he knew people looked upon him with envy -and in some sense, he used that to propel himself forward in his outer appearance to everyone. To Alec, Gerald was an open book, with hardly any pages to read; almost as if, the middle of the book had been savagely ripped out, and hidden in a deep and dark place, but still the rest that was left, was laid out on display for everyone.

"Yeah, well, I saw the soccer posters the other day, and I'm pretty interested." Alec turned his head to Jace who was sitting beside him. There were little marks of sweat around his temples, and pieces of his golden hair curled and stuck to those spots. His thick long eyelashes spidered over his eyes, essentially shadowing them, and turning his eye color to a subtle amber brown tone. Alec sighed internally, regaining his breath, before continuing. "Jace, your going to try out for soccer with me, right?"

"Of course," Jace drawled, giving Alec a mock expression. "Wouldn't want to leave sweet cheeks here all alone." He said in a lower tone of voice, knocking his knee against Alec's. Alec blushed, but it was a weird blush -not as feverish and frequent as his blushes used to be in the presence of Jace. If Alec had to think of it, this flush was so minuet in comparison to what Magnus was able to elicit from him. With Magnus he felt as if his cheeks would burst into flames -a feeling he used to get when being around Jace. How did things shift so dramatically, in the shortest amount of time?

"Robert, you are lucky to have such sport driven boys. I've always wanted Magnus to get into some type of leisure activity, but that boy rather play the pi-"

"But I much rather, shop. And indulge myself into the latest trends and what not." Magnus' voice wavered into the room, from the doorway to Alec's right. Shivers crawled up his back, as he turned to take in the sight before him -as everyone else did. Magnus was leaning his shoulder against the frame of the archway, one leg crossed in front of the other. He was wearing a off-white button down dress shirt, which was opened and or unbuttoned at the collar to reveal tan skin underneath, dark black tightly fitted pants, that hugged his thigh muscles perfectly, and a deep toned purple opened blazer. His hair was sultry turned up to one side, sweeping over the tan skin on his forehead -as if he were standing in front of a strong wind, blowing him to the right. His blazing yellow-green eyes were rimmed by a thick line of black, and gold glitter was swept lightly over his checks and eyelids.

Alec drank his image in. And definitely not subtly, because when Alec had returned his gaze to Magnus' face which was equally as dazzling, Magnus was smirking at him. A devious fox kind of smirk, which sent even more shivers to trail up and down Alec's back.

"Magnus," his fathers eyes were a steely acid green. He stood up, and fluidly gestured with his hand to the seat beside him, "why don't you have a seat."

"Don't mind if I do, father." He eased himself into a standing position, and slinked his way over to the seat, straight across from Alec.

"As I was saying, Magnus usually divides his time between -"

"Oh dad, enough about me. Lets talk about something else." Magnus cut his father off, and the look Gerald gave Magnus could shatter glass. If Robert had ever glanced at Alec in that way, he would go run and cry somewhere, where no one would ever be able to find him. But Magnus brushed it off, knowing that in the presence of company, his father couldn't do anything about his abruptness and rudeness. "You must be Robert. I haven't had the_ pleasure_ to meet Alexander's father." He stretched across the table diagonally to Robert, his hand turned outwards to him. His long lean body hovered over his father, and Alec watched as Maryse's face turned from somber, to instantly shocked, her mouth falling open.

"Hello Magnus," Robert took his hand kindly, not seeing the fault in Magnus' ways at all. He was the more laid back parent of the two; not exactly caring for the simple petty things in life, and mainly caring about the here and now, _living _life. "You have a lovely home,"

"It's a bit too big, don't you think?" Magnus tilted his head and lightly laughed.

"No... I apprecitate the fine detailing along the trimmings of the ceilings in the foyer. And that angel fountain out front -"

"'The Weeping Angel', a favorite of mine." Magnus returned his hand, and sat back down in his seat. If there was anything Robert loved more than escaping away in his own mind, it was discussing architecture, and folklore about angels. Alec could see a glint flicker at the back of Robert's eyes, wavering and oh so ever present.

Really after being in the presence of Magnus, when he attempted to be at his nicest and most friendliest, it was hard not to find something about him that you liked, or connected to.

He was a darkened slow flickering light, that Alec was drawn to. Whether he liked it or not.

Olive and Sarah had come out and placed dishes of bright colorful crisp salads in front of them; everyone except Magnus however. And in a low voice, too low for anyone to be able to overhear what was said, Magnus latched his hand around Olive's arm before she retired to the kitchen parlor door she had come out of, and said something to her, eliciting a cute giggle from her. It was warming seeing Magnus interact nicely with his maids, compared to how Gerald seemed to brush them off as if they were merely present to please him and fit his needs.

"So, Gerald," Robert began, setting his fork down. "Maryse tells me you are having some type of banquet in two weeks?"

"Ah, yes, about that. It is a banquet I hold ever year to commemorate the start of the shipping season of mine and Valentine Morgenstern's company. The elite are invited, as well as there families. Seeing as there are so many teenagers the same age in every family in this town, it just fits that they can all be together, while us adults can discuss business." Alec noticed the way he said 'elite', so indefinitely and drawled out. "I suppose the children find their own dates for the event -black tie, by the way."

"Are you planning to bring anyone Jace?" Maryse asked with a smile. Continuing to make the conversation as fluid as possible.

"Uhh, most likely Valentine's daughter. Clary." Jace answered, unsure if his reply was a bad thing or a good thing. Seeing as Valentine was Gerald's business partner, Jace probably didn't think he had made a good enough impression on Gerald, to give the okay to Valentine.

"She is a beautiful young woman isn't she? Just like her mother." Gerald smiled a small smile. The corners of his mouth only twitched up a fraction. "How about you Izzy?"

"Will Herondale, he already asked me about it at school." She spat his name out abruptly -obviously forcefully trying to get a rise out of Alec. Heat and fire coursed through him again, at the suggestion that his sister and William were interacting with one another. Alec looked across the table at Magnus sharply, to find the expression on Magnus face, as one that was openly shocked. His mouth was open as if he were about to say something, but the air had escaped his lungs, and his dark eyebrows were knit tightly together.

"Who's this Will, Izzy? I sure haven't heard of him. He'll have to meet me first before you go to this banquet with him. Definitely we will be having _the talk_," Robert joked, laughing at the end along with Gerald, and Maryse. Alec didn't find it funny at all that his father wasn't all to concerned about a guy walking into Isabelle's life fairly quickly -but then again, he didn't know what William was like at all.

"And you, Alec?" Maryse asked after coming down from her brief fit of laughter. Alec couldn't help glancing at Magnus again, once Maryse had spoken; but this time he caught those intoxicating yellow-green eyes in his gaze, and for some reason, he couldn't let go.

"I'm not sure yet," his voice was a bit laboured, starring into Magnus' eyes, which held a silent threat within them. Something moved between them; a sudden pulse of energy and static. He broke his eyes away, and returned them to everyone else at the table. "I haven't had the chance to meet a lot of people that I would like, at the school yet," he had a hard time getting that out.

"I'm sure you'll find someone soon Alexander." Magnus said, stretching a bit forward on the tables top to rest his elbows in the middle. As he did so, the front of his shirt -the portion which was unbuttoned -fell open even more, and revealed his smooth chest to Alec, again. Alec strangled back a low sigh. "You just have to be looking in all the right places. Usually, the one thing you are looking for, is the one thing you try to not see. And that person, or thing as you may, that you try to find, is always _right in front of you_." He held Alec's gaze even stronger this time -it was so hard to pull away, almost unbearable to do so. Those eyes held the weight of the world for Alec in this moment -he couldn't help not wanting to ever let go of Magnus' gaze. Alec would do anything just to have a chance to be able to stare at them all day long -but he knew that, that was an impossible wish to come by.

His cheeks were getting hot, too hot, and he knew he must have flushed the color of a ripe tomatoe. His skin wouldn't stop prickling with shivers and tremors which ran freely the length of his body. Under the table Magnus accidentally knocked Alec's foot with his own, and even that bare minimal contact seemed to unravel something within him. It was as if each time he was around Magnus a part of him would come loose and uncoil; and soon he would unwind so much, that he would run out of resistance.

Alec's mind was filled with a quote he had seen not that long ago, in the back of an old tattered book he had found at the library, back in the east coast, Oble, one day;

_And think not you can, Direct the course of love, For love, If it finds you worthy.  
><em>  
>"What words of wisdom Magnus," Maryse cooed from the side. Magnus turned to her and smiled wistfully in her direction.<p>

"I read it somewhere once. It's been stuck in my mind ever since."

"You like to read a lot too?" Robert asked. Another thing he loved, and likewise Alec loved, was to discuss poetry and fine literature. It was something Alec and his father connected on, on a huge level. Since no one else in their family took a liking to it -it was their special thing. And now, he had found another to share in his love.

"Well yes, I tend to dabble a bit in literature. But not many people know that about me," Magnus said, honestly -without any sign of conviction.

As the main course was being brought out: Fresh garden vegetables tossed in a stir fry, smooth creamy mashed potatoes with fresh garlic, and medium rare seared pieces of steak with a light mushroom sauce on top -everyone fell into a silence, eating quietly to themselves. Alec continued to sneak quick lingering glances at Magnus every now and then -only because when he wasn't looking, he could feel those cat eyes watching his every move. But alas, every time he dared to look up, Magnus' had his attention on something else. But maybe that was a good thing, because then he had a few seconds to study Magnus -the strong way the muscles reflexed in his jaw as he ate, the feathery way his fingers moved while he held his fork -for some reason it was all really interesting to Alec. It felt as if he were learning more and more about Magnus, just by watching him.

But the real question Alec had to consider was, did Magnus even want to learn things about _him_?

"Oh," Gerald said loudly, and wiped the corner of his mouth. "What I was meaning to mention about the banquet, before we became sidetracked, was that it will be postponed till two months from now." He sighed, so low, that it was hard to identify it as a sigh. "For you see, it is just too close around the date, of my wife Palmer's passing. I don't find it proper to have it in two weeks anymore."

"I am so sorry Gerald. I didn't know that, of course every one of your colleagues including us will understand." Maryse raised her hand to his shoulder, and pat him lightly. He gazed to his side at Maryse, and gave her a weak -to Alec a very fake -small smile, and the words 'thank you' as a whisper on his lush lips.

"It really does mean a lot to -" Gerald began.

"You've never moved the date before." Magnus scoffed, slouching back in his seat, throwing his arms across his chest. Everyone turned their attention to him hastily -only because his tone of voice was held with so much scorn. His face was as closed off as it ever had been, in Alec's opinion. He was hiding something within, even if Magnus wasn't aware of it himself, Alec could sense it. His eyes were dark orbs of emerald now, no shine or light of gold in sight.

"Magnus," his father rather hissed, "yes, I have."

"No you haven't. You've never cared." Magnus stood up from the table. "You've never cared..." He whispered breathlessly. Things were transpiring in fast motion -one minute they were happily eating their delicious dinner, enjoying the company, and the next Magnus is accusing his father of not caring of his mothers death; while the rest of them looked upon them in dismay. Jace had his fork posed in front of his mouth, he had stopped mid way, before Magnus had stood up from the table. Isabelle's eyes were wide, as she was stricken by the suddenness of events as well. Alec didn't even want to think about what his expression might have looked like.

Gerald stood from the table as well, slowly rising out of his seat. A black shadow, morphing out of the darkness into a tall man with acid eyes. "Magnus, may I have a word with you?" He inclined his chin, narrowing his eyes, as a silent threat. Magnus again snaked his arms over his chest, and stood his ground, gesturing with his eyes to continue. "Outside. _Now_." Gerald reached out, and grabbed a hold of Magnus arm, practically dragging him from the room.

They all listened and sat in silence as the sound of their steps dissipated from the foyer, and became too far away for it to be heard anymore. The only sound in the room was the constant ticking of the grand father clock, which was situated at the far back of the room.

"Well that was interesting," Jace said finally after minutes of silence.

"Johnathan Christopher," Maryse scowled, turning her steely blue eyes on him.

"What?" Jace put up his hands in front of him, to ward her off. "Seriously, you can't tell me you didn't find that interesting? Being here in Alicante, is like being in one of those soap opera things you like to watch."

"Jace..." Robert attempted to be the strict father of the situation, but gave away to a small chuckle. Jace smiled at that -and so did Alec. But at the back of Alec's mind, he was wondering where Magnus and Gerald had gone off to. He wanted to know things were all right, or that they were going to _be _alright with Magnus and his father. It was literally tearing at his conscience to go check on him.

And so he did just that. He shot up out of his seat, almost knocking the white leather chair to the ground. "Where are you going?" Isabelle asked, as Alec regained his composure, and straightened the chair.

"Uhh, I-I need to find a bathroom. I'll be right back." He lied, and without another second of hesitation left the room through the archway, and was re-submerged into the gaudy darkness of the rest of the house. He ducked under an archway, which lay on the right of the grand staircase, over by the front door. Alec quietly stepped through the archway and into a long winding narrow hallway -attempting to make minimal sound with his movements. Upon inspection he continued to pass through dozens of empty rooms, with bookcases, and beds, and a dark lit room, with a bright white grand piano in the middle of the space.

The last room at the end of the long hallway, had its door left slightly ajar, and harsh whispers emitting from it. Alec peaked his head inside slowly, to see Gerald standing in front of Magnus, his hands on either shoulder, squeezing hard enough to leave dent marks in the fabric of Magnus' white dress shirt -Gerald's back was turned to Alec, so Alec didn't have the risk of being caught by him. He was lowly yelling at Magnus; although Alec really didn't know what he was saying -since it was more so in whispered hushes. The only thing Alec was concentrating on was the sheer look of terror on Magnus' face, which was turned towards him.

Those yellow-green eyes found Alec's, and Alec cursed himself for being so stupid as to let Magnus see him standing there in the crack of the door. He starred into Magnus' eyes, waiting and watching for them to change -but they never did, and the message they held, was for Alec to leave it be.

But he didn't want to. He yearned to cross the room, and reach out to Gerald, so he could take his hands off of Magnus -it was maddening being so defenceless in a situation like this, because there was no telling what Gerald would do, if Alec had interfered in any way.

"Look at me when I am talking to you," Gerald boomed, grabbing Magnus chin between his fingers, jerking his head sharply to face away from Alec. He was oblivious to the fact that Alec was standing there in the doorway -too bent stricken on punishing his son. Alec watched as Magnus winced in pain. Magnussnuck one last quick glance over to Alec, his eyes basically pleading for Alec to leave.

Alec had to stifle back all of the sudden aggression that bubbled up within him; and with all the force he could muster within himself, not to cross that space, and shake Gerald, he turned on point and stalked his way back down the hallway silently.

He couldn't exactly comprehend what had happened there, why Magnus had accused his father of something terrible, and why Gerald had blew up on Magnus in such a equally terrible way. All Alec knew is that, whatever he had just witnessed, he would never forget.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: How did I get this to be over 6,000 words? Oh gosh, this just took a tremendous amount of time, and I am sorry for the four day wait! Forgive me!  
>I would have included the boat scene, with all of them hanging out, but I just thought that would be way to hard -having to remember who was situated where, who was talking to whom, on this cramped little boat. So I just quickly skipped over that bit. Remember this isn't the biggest scene of them all. (I've already wrote the big scene, and let me tell you... IT'S BIG, but won't come in for another 20-30 chapters... oh gosh.)<br>I wanted you to get a better sense of Gerald, and of the Bane manor essentially (since you'll be seeing a lot of that house) -while establishing the connection between Alec and Magnus a bit more. I wanted to basically show you the tension in the air between them, even without them speaking to one another. It's those glances and subtle quirks that count the most to me. Sure having them talk and get to know one another is always important, but I want their utter tension to shine through, and just show how magnetically attracted they can be to one another.  
>Soon, it will be revealed what happened to Palmer Bane. Not too soon, but soon enough. The next chapter will get back to school, and all that jazz.<br>I want to thank you guys for sticking with this, even this long, and reviewing. So here you go, a little snippet from a (really) future chapter:**

_"Mag -Magnus. We have to study," Alec breathlessly said, letting his eyes slip shut."_

**Review, and another snippet may be coming your way!**

**Amber,**


	16. Chains

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

_**Chains  
><strong>  
>"Chains, well I can't break away from these chains. Can't run around,<br>'cause I'm not free. Whoa, oh, these chains of love,  
>won't let me be, yeah.<em>_."_

* * *

><p><em>Beep. Beep. Beep.<em>

Magnus groaned, as he was awakened by the bleak repetitive thrumming of his iPhone. _Beep. Beep. Beep. _It continued -the thick walls of Magnus' room bounced the sound around steadily, making Magnus feel increasingly irritable. Without lifting his head up and away from the confines of his fluffed silky pillows, Magnus stretched his bare arm out to the side, the muscles there trembled unexpectedly, and then he snatched his phone from his glossy crystal glass night table.

He brought it steadily to his ear, and clicked it on, sighing as he did so. "Hello?" His voice was muffled from sleep. He had a terrible time falling asleep that night -with a bruised confidence, and shattered self-esteem, Magnus was due in for many restless nights. He wanted to _almost _desperately get away, escape just for awhile, and not look back; but that just made him flimsy in his mind. Magnus really didn't want to feel _wasted, _he wanted to feel strong, purposeful, and worthy of being able to stand his own ground. So running away for a long time, wasn't an option.

_"Mag! Where are you? You were supposed to pick me and John up at eight." _Clary said rather hurriedly. _"We had to ride with Jem and Tessa. And, you weren't in English."  
><em>  
>"Not... Going... Today..." Magnus said into his pillows, his voice stretched and scattered to Clary on the other end.<p>

"Excuse me?" Sarah's accusing voice wafted into his bedroom, from the now opened double doors, to the right of his bed. "Did I just hear you weren't going to school?" Magnus lifted his head enough to turn his face towards her, letting Clary's voice slip away -to show Sarah his utter disdain in that moment. But he felt weak and pitiful; because he couldn't even properly raise his head without wincing in pain at the tender skin around his jaw line, and his shoulders. He dipped his head low, and breathed a strangled unsteady breath into the fabric of his canary colored bed sheets.

"Clary, I got to go. If all hell doesn't break loose, you _might _see me in the afternoon." Magnus clicked his phone off, and again attempted to pick himself up from the soft comfortable confines of his bed -but he found no solace in that; everything shook under the weight of what had transpired yesterday at dinner. If he had to be painfully honest, he felt precariously weak because of the words his father spoke, the lies in the depths of his acid eyes -Magnus had always yearned for his father to let him in and be honest with him, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. And yes, he was physically weak, but it didn't faze him as much, as his emotional weakness at the moment. It's not as if he was beaten, punched, kicked, choked -Gerald would never go that far. He had a shred of empathy within him, that Magnus could feel sometimes, when Gerald was calm and himself, but in times when things became stressful he turned into a man Magnus hardly recognized.

Gerald had grabbed Magnus, rather forcefully this time, but Magnus didn't take notice to it, and or dwell on the ramifications. Magnus was the one at fault, he decided later; acting out in the most unruly of ways in front of their guests -the Lightwood's -really, he should have been able to deduct that his actions would entail a few consequences. It was just the fact that Gerald lied about a topic pertaining to Magnus' mother. And for what reason? There was no need to disgrace the remembrance of Palmer Bane; the lovely woman, with rich flowing oak wood brown hair, with bright feverish yellow eyes, and a smile which could be compared to the smile of angels. The mother who cared for her son like no other, and put up with the tremendous amount of hell he would give her as a kid. The wife, who loved her husband with a passion as great as to be compared to Romeo and Juliet. The friend, who would always be there for the ones she cherished.

_'It is the caring that she lovingly gives, The passion that she shows, And the beauty of a woman, With passing years only grows.' _Magnus used to mutter those words to himself, when he thought back on his mother. Those short lines seemed to describe her so perfectly.

"I'm not going." Magnus said to Sarah harshly through his teeth. He was mad and abrasive. He didn't want to have to slave away at applying multiple layers of makeup just to cover up the bruises around his jaw, that he was sure were there. He didn't want to have to talk to William about the dinner, and discuss new strategies or whatever it was William would most likely want to talk about.

And he sure as hell didn't want to face Alec. That would only make matters worse. He absolutely hated seeing pity in others eyes when they looked upon Magnus, in the darkest of times, and he didn't think he would be able to stand Alec looking upon him in that way either. He was surprised that Alec had even tried to find him, or quite possibly he wasn't trying to find him, and stumbled upon the room as a stroke of fate. But nevertheless, Alec had witnessed some of what went on in that room -really the worst of it, and Magnus didn't want or need his pity.

It might have just been Magnus' imagination, or had he actually seen the tips of Alec's ivory fingers shift to attention at the way Gerald was holding Magnus? The fire in Alec's eyes was very evident, but that didn't amount to much -if what happened to Magnus, had been happening to someone else, Magnus was sure Alec would react in the exact same way. Magnus knew he wasn't anything remotely special in Alec's mind; just another friend that went to his school. And Magnus was okay with that, he couldn't ask for much, he knew that, and accepted it -all he could hope for, was Alec's friendship.

And maybe, just maybe, after a long time, this whole thing would blow over with William, and he would disregard the plan completely.

"Yes you are, now come on," Sarah pulled back his bed covers, a shrill wave of cold air flowed perfectly along the curve of Magnus' back, tickling the fine hairs on his tawny skin. Thankfully he was wearing pajama pants to bed that night, otherwise, this would be quite an embarrassing situation for the both of them. Sarah continued on, rather quickly, yanking him by the wrist, forcing his arm to bend in a disheartening way. Magnus bit down the pain that shot up over his chest and shoulders; he could almost taste the coppery lace of his blood in his mouth, as he bit down hard on his bottom lip. "Magnus..." Sarah gasped in horror, shrinking away from him. Magnus quickly looked over himself, to find purpling and reddening finger shaped bruises trailing over his arms. Sarah's eyes were wide, and terribly sad.

"It's nothing Sarah. Just please, I don't want to go today. Please." Magnus watched as Sarah's face contorted in outward pain; he didn't know what it must have been like, to be her, and see Magnus weak and harmed by his father on occasion. All he could guess, was that it wasn't a good situation, because Sarah and Olive were somewhat forced to stay quiet about these things. Sarah regained her composure, and pushed back her conflicting emotions. She shock her head once, back then forth, Magnus sighed, and then she turned her chin up then down. Man she was being very indecisive today.

"How about you go in the afternoon? For now I'll go down to Harper's shop and get the burn rub. I'll be back soon," Sarah turned on her pudgy heal, and made her way briskly to his bedroom doors, taking short steps across his room.

"These aren't burn marks Sarah..." Magnus whispered lowly as she fled his room. He sat there for a few minutes watching the shadows of clouds change across the wood floorboards of his bedroom. It was going to be another good day for weather -bright, and sunny. The warmth from outside seemed to seep through his windows, making his room stuffy and warm. The small clouds in the sky were white and fluffy, almost non-existent, across the great harsh expanse of vibrant blue sky. Today would be a perfect day to visit his mother and his lake -that's exactly what he would do. Go to school for a little bit, pick up his books needed for his upcoming projects and escape for a day -or two.

Sooner or later, Magnus had made his way into his bathroom, washing himself gently, not to strain the muscles in his arms, coaxing his body with his wild berry soap, and afterwards, fixing his makeup to make it seem as if the bruises around his jaw were never there. He turned his hair up to one side, again leaving a few bangs to be scattered over his forehead -he liked it better that way, instead of his usual full faux hawk. He changed hastily into light grey tight cut offs, which were folded up to the middle of his calves, a bright glittery orange low cut tank top -resembling the one Sebastian had worn the other day, but Magnus' was much, much more glitter-littered -and spotless white toms. It wasn't his usual outfit -he mostly went for a few statement designer pieces.

_So what_, he thought gazing at his reflection in his floor length mirror, _it's not like I'm trying to impress anyone_. But somehow as he thought of that, bright searching lake blue eyes, crimson flushed angular cheeks and thin pink lips scuttled there way into his mind. Magnus attempted to push them away, but nothing seemed to help. Even the thoughts of the newest line of Micheal Kors watches, couldn't steal his mind away. It was as if his mind was bent on torturing him, and destroying his emotions.

Magnus grabbed his keys, and shoved them into his back pocket. He made his way down the grand staircase, and just as he was about to leave, Sarah met him at the opening of the front door. "Ah, ah, ah. Where do you think you're going without the burn rub?" Sarah picked through her small yellow, red flower covered, tote bag, and pulled out a long tub of ointment. "And dressing like that? Magnus, the...The marks on your arms, everyone will see..."

"Sarah it's fine. I'm only going, to pick up a few things, and leave." She looked up at him with bewildered, wondering, chocolate brown eyes. "Don't wait up," Magnus bent down and quickly pecked her on the cheek, rushing out of the door quickly; before Sarah could voice her protests. He hopped into his car, and sped just as quickly along the roadways to the school.

Twenty minutes later, Magnus found himself walking through the front doors. He made it to the school, when fourth block was about half an hour from ending. It was likely he wouldn't see anyone of importance really -only the few random people, going to the washrooms or their lockers. And he was thankful for that. His 'mission' was to get into the school, and get out just as quickly, without running into anyone who might question the marks on his arms. Yes, it was risky that he even showed up to school with a tank top on, which quite predominately showed off his bare fragile tan skin, well. But he would only be there for a couple of harmless minutes.

He turned the corner which would bring him the closest to his locker, on the far west side of the school, and instantly collided with a hard firm body, knocking foreheads with the person. The muscles in his arms ached where it was also hit, by the other persons body. "Ouch," He knew that voice.

Magnus locked eyes with Alec rather quickly, and took a hesitant step back. The proximity of their bodies was making Magnus shutter with a form of anticipation he couldn't quite readily decipher. "Sorry, I didn't see you there," Alec apologized rubbing his forehead, with the palm of his hand. His charcoal hair was absolutely dishevelled on top of his head, in a cute boyish way, and as Alec continued to swipe his palm over his forehead, he messed around his hair even more. Alec was wearing dark blue jeans -no surprise there -and a loose fitting long sleeve black shirt with no design or logo in sight.

"No problem," Magnus shrugged, fixing the hem on the bottom of his tank top, suddenly very self conscience of Alec seeing the marks along his arms. "Now, if you'll excuse me-" Magnus inched his way past Alec, but was stopped when Alec dared to move in front of him, and block his path once again. Magnus quirked his eyebrow in determination, not at all happy with the situation Alec deemed to place him in. They stood there in silence for a few beats too long, just starring each other down relentlessly.

"You weren't in English," Alec's eyes dropped a shade in color, as if the lightness and happiness disappeared from the depths of his eyes. _Was that honestly all he had to say?_It was obvious enough that Alec's eyes were darting to Magnus' arms, inspecting the damage -cautiously. Alec was attempting to make it seem as if it didn't affect him, but his body faltered, and his chest instantly went rigid, as if he were holding in way too much air. He gazed into Magnus' eyes then, and held them steadily -despite the flush that dared to turn Alec's face a darker shade of red -he was holding up quite famously. "Are you going to be in Bio?"

"Why aren't you pitying me?" Magnus interjected rashly, snaking his arms over his chest, and jutting his leg out to the side -cocking his hip. He strived to get to the point as fast as he could, so he could be down with his little 'mission' at the school, and head out for the lake.

"_Should_I pity you?"

"Answered with a question," Magnus muttered to himself, and shook his head, laughing briefly to himself. He could faintly remember that his mother used to do that a lot. And really, he had never met any other person that would have that same quality -that is, until just now. "Well, Alexander, it is quite obvious you've noticed the marks along my arms. And you, and I, both know where those came from," Magnus said without a sign of indifference. He was putting on a front, to save himself from appearing weak.

"I don't think you want my pity. Let alone anyone else's." Alec shrugged, pursing his thin lips together tightly. As he did so, a subtle dimple appeared in his left cheek.

A dimple. Oh, how Alec continued to gain tiny quirks and traits which made Magnus want to melt where he stood.

"And why would you think that, lovely?" Magnus challenged him.

"I don't know... I just -I," Alec began to stutter on his words. A cloud passed from the skylight overhead, letting rays of pure sunlight seep into the hall. It fell over Alec gracefully, outlining every small detail in his face, and lightening the blue of his eyes. "You just strike me as the type of person who would hate that." He breathed out a long sigh.

"You hardly know me, Alexander. I can't possibly see how you could be the judge of that." Magnus straightened his back, and returned to his regular stance, readying himself to move past Alec again. What he didn't expect was for Alec to grab a hold of his wrist, with those clammy warm hands, and pull him to his side -the edges of their hips connecting. Alec's hand held a delicate resistance to them, making sure not to hold on too tight that it could hurt Magnus, but firm enough that it kept Magnus there.

"Then let me get to know you," Alec said low enough, that it caused Magnus' blood to flow hotly throughout his veins. His heart pace picked up tenfold, and beat incredibly fast -crashing against his chest. This was quite possibly the first time Magnus was at a loss for words. His breath hitched in his chest, and his voice was relentless to utter a single word.

He managed to calm his mind and rapidly beating heart, after a few seconds too long; Alec still having a hold on Magnus' arm. Magnus turned and nodded his head to Alec, "I'm going to this place right now, it's a lake. Y-you can come with me?" Magnus actually stuttered. Somehow Alec was able to elicit the most uncommon occurrences in Magnus. It was ridiculous, that he even felt a shred of nervousness and hesitation in the presence of Alec -a feeling he had never had to endure before. Possibly when he was younger, and naive, but definitely, now of days, Magnus had thought he left that part of himself in the past.

"We're just going to ditch Bio?"

"Look, if you don't want to come, that's fine with me -"

"No I'll go." Alec cut in sharply, and released his hand from Magnus' wrist. The warmth that spread from their contact instantly dissipated, leaving Magnus yearning for more.

"We will be gone all day," Magnus quirked another eyebrow high on his forehead, challenging Alec to back out -although on the inside, he did want Alec to come.

"Fine by me," Alec smiled, and stepped out of Magnus' way. Magnus smirked haughtily at Alec, and continued to walk towards the area of his locker, Alec following in tow. Magnus wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not; he knew for sure he wasn't thinking rationally -never had he ever taken anyone to that lake. But for some odd reason, he _wanted_ and essentially _desired_ for Alec to be there with him today.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Transition chapter into what is next to come! Sorry again for the four day wait. Seriously I've been swamped with so much school work it's driving me absolutely insane. But hey.. guess what? Next weekened, I start spring break! So, I will be able to write a whole bunch more, and make up for all the lost time in between my recent updates. I wanted to give a brief description of Palmer Bane -there will be other times where I will get more in depth about the person she is. I didn't exactly want her to look like Magnus, only for the fact that Gerald is the one that has mostly, if not all, of Magnus' features (besides the gold in his eyes, and the slightly delicate planes to his face).  
>Sarah is kind of that figure in Magnus life, that does <em>try <em>to look out for him, but can't express it in the right way. (Just as a side note).**

**I'll try to update as fast as I can, and honestly, comments do make the process go faster! Don't be lazy, go ahead and click that button at the bottom, and if all you have to say is 'Hi', I don't mind!**

**Here's a little snippet from another chapter (which will be coming in the near-ish (?) ****future):**

_"Robert, what are you-" Maryse's voice seemed to get smaller and smaller as she followed Robert down the hallway, to the front door, "ROBERT!" She yelled, as Alec heard a sharp but suddle impacting, crunching sound."_

**Amber,**


	17. Act Naturally

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

_**Act Naturally  
><strong>  
>"We'll make the scene about a man that's sad and lonely And beggin down upon<br>his bended knee, I'll play the part but I won't need rehearsin'  
>All I have to do is act naturally<em>_."_

* * *

><p>The wind tousled Alec's hair around his face, catching on his eyelashes, creating a nuisance of itself -as he was subjected to continue brushing it away. The reasonable and or logical thing to do, would have been for Alec to close the tinted glass window of Magnus' car -but seeing as, Alec was increasingly nervous and anxious about going to the lake, alone with Magnus, cool fresh air was just what he needed to calm the heat that bubbled inside him. Not to mention the fact he was clad in a long sleeved black shirt, which attracted the suns deadly hot rays, immensely. Alec was a bit apprehensive about going to a lake, alone with Magnus, but in all honesty who wouldn't be? Magnus was intimidating -sometimes in a good way, and other times disastrously overwhelming. But he was also excited, he couldn't wait to see what the day might hold for them.<p>

They had been driving for almost an hour, through forest littered, concealed dirt roadways -making some small talk as they went. Nothing _too_ significant; Magnus seemed to be very concentrated on getting to their destination -his dark eyebrows knit together in a type of silent determination. However, in retrospect, Magnus _did _appear to be tense and timorous -Alec didn't truly understand how he noticed the almost non-existent worry lines around Magnus' lush lips and forehead -but he did, and seeing Magnus even look the tiniest bit nervous, sent Alec sprawling over the edge. Maybe he deemed to notice the little shifts and changes in Magnus expressions, because of the amount of lingering glances he bestowed upon Magnus. Alec tried to be sly about it, but it would be too precarious if Magnus _hadn't_ noticed what-so-ever.

"Not too far now," Magnus said, turning off onto a very shallow dirt road, surrounded by towering evergreen trees. This situation resembled the times when Alec and Jace had gone, off road treading through the woods, which laid on the outskirts of Oble. The terrain was rough, and swayed Magnus car unevenly as they drove along a winding trail through the woods. It was immaculate how Magnus' car even dared to fit in the small space, without brushing against the tips of jagged tree branches. Alec nodded his head, catching those intoxicating yellow-green orbs, for a split second, before Magnus turned his head away. Magnus was being dismissive, and not at all his glorious innuendo filled self -and Alec desperately wanted to know why.

"How do you know of this lake?" Alec asked out of curiosity. Magnus didn't necessarily seem like the type of person who would choose a lake as his destination of escape. But then again, he didn't appear to be a person interested in literature -but low and behold, he was.

"My mother use to bring me here when I was younger. I've loved it ever since, and I can't seem to stay away." Magnus said wearily, but not in a dis-concerning manner. It was obvious enough that Magnus was uncomfortable talking about his mother, to Alec; and really Alec wouldn't push those boundaries Magnus held in front of himself, unless he wanted him to. The right moment would come, where they could be open, to one another, with the deep and dark secrets of their pasts; no matter how hard it would be for the both of them to share. And quite possibly the opposite could happen, where they subjected themselves to hiding from one another, working around the trials of their lives -But Alec was determined to make the latter, happen. It was as if, their friendship was built around perceptions -Magnus would only do certain things, in response to Alec's actions, and vice-versa.

"And we're spending the whole day there?" Alec asked eagerly. He actually liked the idea of getting away from his family, home, and school just to relax at a lake with Magnus, for awhile. Biology would've been boring without Magnus present, but then again maybe he could concentrate on the lessons in class more... And definitely he needed a break from home and Jace's rambling on and on, about Clary. It was still weird to think that Jace had found a girl, that his mind seemed to be constantly thinking about. Only time would tell if this newest fascination of Jace's would be short lived or not.

"Maybe even overnight," Magnus smirked, the corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly. Alec gulped back his uncertainty -rather loudly -and began to finger the hem of his long sleeved shirt. Magnus' tone of voice again held a defiant challenge -like it did back at the school. And Alec slowly began to realize that Magnus was almost indirectly waiting for Alec to back out, and rethink his decision to go to the lake with Magnus. But for what reason? Did he think Alec wasn't up to being alone with him?

"I don't care if we stay here all week, even." Alec remarked with a dauntless smile on his face. He watched as Magnus' Adams apple bobbed uncomfortably. But he didn't show any other resistance to what Alec had suggested -so that was a good thing. And of course, Alec was only joking -they both couldn't escape from Alicante for that long, without questions being raised. Overnight, however, was a very good idea in Alec's mind. That would give him plenty of time to slightly figure out the pieces which made up Magnus.

They continued to drive for possibly ten more minutes, before they drove right out in the open to a sand covered lakeside beach. Alec could see from one bank to the other -even if it the area of the lake water was fairly big. It had this secluded atmosphere to it; being surrounded on all sides by tall pine and evergreen trees, and mossy patches of ground. Quite possibly the only entrance to this lake was the one Magnus and Alec had just come through -which was also the only bank with sand covered ground.

Magnus parked just shy of the entrance they came out of, and Alec stepped out onto soft golden buttery grains of sand. The light of the sun amplified the color of everything around them -so it seemed -and sent dazzling flecks of sun clusters across the expanse of the sea foam green colored water. Off to the far right edge of the sandy beach, three perfectly laid apple trees, stood attentively in a crescent half moon shape. _Apple trees -_what a strange site that was to see, at a lake. It provided an area of shade, Alec noted, and the ground around its base appeared more compact. All around the edges of the space, there were grassy patches, with uneven green bristles sticking out in random spots.

This lake felt so warm hearted, and cut off from everything else, that Alec could see why this place would capture even Magnus' attention. "Do you, and your friends, come out here a lot?" Alec asked, his eyes still feverishly moving across all the angles of the lake. It was a little bit weird referring to the people Alec had hung out with just the day before, as Magnus' friends -although they were -they were also Alec's friends now too. But he didn't exactly know how to voice that in the right context. Alec turned his head towards Magnus. Magnus, who bared his tawny smooth, lightly muscled, bruised arms, as if it didn't affect him at all. Magnus, who had just the perfect height and slenderness to his body; making him look like a dangerously blemish free sculpture. Magnus who's hair was turned up to one side, sweeping across his forehead in the most unadulterated of ways; thick black shiny waves flowing in the essence of wind.

Magnus -who Alec couldn't seem to take his eyes off of. Let alone his mind.

"Mmm, nope. You're the only one -besides my mother, who has seen this place, lovely." Magnus regarded the direction of the water in front of them with a subtly tilt of his chin. He stuck his thumbs into the front belt loops of his grey rolled up cut offs, and rolled his shoulders back, so there was a definite rounded curve in his back.

"Seriously?" Alec looked to Magnus incredulously. He wasn't sure if Magnus was lying or not.

"Yes Alexander. And it's quite the honor that I've brought you here. Be grateful and bask in the glory of my heaven," Magnus unlatched his hands from his belt loops, and raised his hands, palm up, skyward -as if he were soaking in the sun through the tips of his fingers.

"-Which heaven to gaudy day denies," Alec remarked; the word heaven triggering his love for his favorite poem. It was just too hard to resist.

"-One shade the more, one ray the less," Magnus added in a whisper, gazing out at the water -now, with his arms folded over his chest. Magnus cut his eyes sideways at Alec, and smiled. If there was one thing they could connect on so easily it was literature.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Alec asked nonchalantly, after a few short minutes, stepping out of his Levi's. The lake water was calling his name -begging for Alec to take a dip in its fresh inviting water. Magnus turned fully to him, his eyebrows raised high on his tan blemish free forehead, and his lush lips haphazardly laid open.

"You actually want to stay the night?" Magnus' face was plagued with astonishment. "With me, lovely?"

"Why not?" Alec asked deviously, reaching behind his back over his shoulder, to pull up the hem of his shirt. In one swift movement, he removed his long sleeve shirt from his body and tossed it to the sand littered ground, along with his shoes. Upon doing so he rumpled his charcoal hair even more, but he didn't mind. Alec didn't understand where this sudden rush of confidence came from -but he liked it. And he definitely liked the affect it was having on Magnus. Alec watched as his all yellow and green cat eyes dilated so that they were simple blazing black orbs floating in the abis of white. Almost no color in sight. "The waters good right?" Magnus nodded his head deliberately, suddenly at a lose for words. Alec, then, started to unzip the front of his jeans. Slowly, as to add emphasis -

_Emphasis to what? _Alec thought as he finished with his jeans, and kicked them off -luckily he was wearing black boxers instead of briefs. Alec again studied Magnus, and how he seemed to be avoiding looking at Alec, in the slightest bit. His chest and back went rigid. It was as if Alec and Magnus had switched places right at the present moment -but who was he to be the judge of that? And _what _was he meaning to gain out of this? Magnus seemed less than comfortable with the circumstances at hand, and that was a warning sign Alec should have noticed from the beginning.

In the silence that stretched between them, Alec delicately folded his clothes and placed them in the backseat of Magnus' car. Avoiding looking at him; Alec felt embarrassed now, at the way he was acting. It really wasn't a norm for him to be so submissive with his actions. When he turned back to Magnus, Magnus had miraculously stripped down to his bright purple sparkly boxers, within the short amount of time. The full body view was even more intoxicating, than it was when Magnus was fully clothed; Alec would never dare to admit something like that, but it was definitely there at the back of his mind. And now this image was imprinted into his head as well: Buttery tawny skin, which looked absolutely smooth and hairless -except for his legs, which had dark hair coating it. He wasn't skinny, but he wasn't all muscle like Alec was either; just small coils and ripples of muscle lined his arms and abdomen -not to mention his thigh muscles were pretty nice. And lord have mercy on Alec's hormones; Magnus had a very defined 'v' which travelled down from his hip bones, to a place which made Alec blush fervently.

"I rather like you in those boxers. It's a good look for you, lovely." Magnus eyes trailed over him steadily and sultry slow. Somehow in the course of two short minutes, Magnus seemed to redeem himself as well. The mysterious glint in his eyes had returned, and likewise the fox grin which laced his lips. Now it was Alec's turn to gulp and become tense and rigid. "Now come on," Magnus waved his hand in the direction of the lake. "Show me what those soccer muscles can do," Magnus added slyly, as an after thought, "in the water, that is."

"How did you know I played soccer?" Alec closed the door to Magnus' car gently and went to stand beside the bronze, lightly muscled, god.

"I was standing in the doorway yesterday for longer than you know." Magnus smiled and shrugged. They headed out to the water -which was surprisingly cold, given the heat and pure light the sun was casting upon it. All around them, it was quiet -the subtle rustling of leaves, and birds singing were the only things to be heard.

"I wish I could just stay here all day, ever day." Alec sprawled out in the water on his back, floating along with the ripples of the water. As Magnus did the same.

"Don't I know it." Magnus said more so to himself, a little bit of sadness crept its way into his voice. In a not-so-conscious decision Alec bolted from his lying down position, to tread the water briefly, and tugged on Magnus arm -gently, he didn't want to risk hurting him -but purposefully while pressing down on the top of Magnus' head, bringing them both under.

They both came up after a few seconds, and for a moment Alec thought Magnus was truly pissed off, just by the look on his face -but after a beat too long, Magnus burst out laughing and sent water into Alec's face. They continued on like that, horsing around in the water, racing each other to a designated destination, seeing who could outlast the other underwater -it was as if they were innocent kids again, leaving life behind just to be in the now, having fun. Both of them were cracked up on laughing so hard, that it took all of their will power to begin to breath normally again.

Magnus was growing on Alec -_had _been growing on him probably from the first time they met, if he was to be honest. Whether his feelings towards Magnus were simply platonic of something more -he didn't know. All he knew was that he cherished the time he had, had with Magnus so far. Even if it wasn't much to account for.  
>Sooner than later, they had made their way out of the water and onto the golden lakeside beach. Both sitting cross legged, campfire style across from one another. Sand coated their arms, legs, and feet where they hadn't dried themselves off.<p>

"Thank you," Magnus said out of the blue. His eyes closed and his face arched upwards to the sky; where the sun shun down on his tan face breathtakingly. Highlighting ever subtle curve and outline of his exotic features. The curve of his long nose, the shape of his almond eyes. "I really needed this," He sighed, his chest rising than falling rhythmically and slowly.

Alec gazed at him, mapping out every distinct feature that made Magnus -_Magnus. _As his eyes travelled down his face, Alec's eyes instantly stopped at the purple marks along his jaw line; where faint traces of makeup still lingered. Hesitantly Alec raised his fingers to Magnus' jaw, and brushed the tips of his fingers along the purple bruised skin.

Magnus flinched at his touch, and opened his eyes sharply -a fox grin stretched the length of his face when he realized what Alec was doing. "Lovely, I know I'm irresistible, but you've got to ask permission before you touch."

"I'm sorry," Alec breathed out, his hand still lingering on the edge of Magnus face.

"For what, Alexander? I was only kidding. You can touch me any time you want," Magnus said low, his voice husky and suggestive. Alec's spine prickled -even in this heat -and silent shocks sparked throughout his body, coursing through his heated blood.

But that was not what he was sorry for.

"No Magnus. I-I know you don't want me to pity you. But I... I'm sorry I didn't do anything to help you -"

"It would have only made matters worse," Magnus attempted to reassure Alec, and he was thankful for that. "Forget it Alexander, I don't want you to think this is your fault." Alec sheepishly smiled, and nodded his head in compliance, biting the edge of his bottom lip. Magnus smirked, and let his eyelids fall shut for a second. Then Alec picked his knees up to his chest, and folded his arms over his knee caps, to gaze out at the lake, and the patterns of the sun, that was cast down upon it.

For awhile that is all they did, watch the lake and the sky -all of the ever changing patterns found there. And then restlessly they began to talk about random things, about one another. What type of food was their favorite, what shows they loved, the worst dates they had ever had, and definitely they discussed all of their preferences in literature.

It was easy, after awhile Alec discovered, talking to Magnus one on one. That is, if you looked past the slight teasing and substantial suggestiveness Magnus liked to through in there. It was like a breath of fresh air with a sudden spicy kick to it once in awhile -that was how Alec would describe their conversations. And that was all Alec could have hoped and asked for. There were a few moments were Alec damned his ivory skin tone; for how easy it was for Magnus to see the sailors blush on his cheeks. There were also moments when Alec would stutter, just gazing at the image of Magnus beside him -it was maddening. But alas it made everything, that much more natural.

He couldn't quite wrap his mind around everything he felt, in the presence of Magnus. It was there, at the edge of his mind, whispering faintly enough that he couldn't decipher what his mind was trying to tell him. Every tremor -shiver -spark -added to his growing suspicions... What was this feeling that he got in the pit of his stomach whenever he was around Magnus? What did the silent glances they gave each other mean?

Night had fallen on them way too quickly, casting the sun away, but that was usually what happened around September time: shorter days, but even longer nights.

"I've got a surprise for you," Magnus said, rather cheerily.

"Really? How? You didn't even know I was coming -"

"Well, it isn't _technically _something I planned. But its still enough to count as a surprise."

"It better not be some sappy cliche surprise -like from those chick flicks, where the guy gives his love something, like a flower, and the person feels all special, but than the guy does something that makes his love feel used, and yeah. Not that, that applies to, uhh, us, or anything." Alec stopped himself, because he had begun to ramble on and on, about something non-significant. Magnus regarded him, however, with watchful and tentative eyes -searching Alec's face, in the darkness and moonlight. Magnus' long thick eyelashes shadowed his eyes, making them much more mysterious and tempting -challenging and defying.

"I would never use you," Magnus whispered, and Alec just about melted at the sound of Magnus voice -so raw and vulnerable...

Was it just Alec, or was Magnus leaning, hesitantly, covertly, towards him? Inching closer and closer to Alec's face, over the short distance between them... Better yet, was Alec leaning as well? Magnus eyes dilated again to their almost full black state, their faces mere centimetres away from each other; and really Alec didn't know _what _was happening right now -but that it just was. They were so close now, that Alec could taste the sweet spearmint of Magnus' breath lacing the air between them. His eyelids felt heavy, ushering him to close them, and Alec watched as Magnus' eyes seemed to be having the same affect on him.

Suddenly specks of bright glittery light burst at the corners of Alec's eyes, pulling him away from the moment to regard the scene around them. It was frightening at first, but as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, everything became magnificent and dazzling. Tiny lights -fire flies -were drifting out of the bits of uneven grass on the beach -thousands of them littering the air. They hovered up and up, multiplying in size by the second, Everything around them was illuminated now -it reminded Alec of dozens of Chinese lanterns being lifted into the sky. Breathtaking. Beautiful. The image they left across the water was almost magical; almost as if the stars from the night sky dropped down to hover just shy of the waters glistening surface.

Alec returned his eyes to Magnus briefly to find that, Magnus eyes were pained, with a deep sadness, for a reason unknown to Alec -but he knew Magnus was trying to conceal his emotions. Alec could tell, because in that moment Magnus looked more closed off than he had been the whole entire day.

"Surprise." Magnus smirked.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Don't kill me! I know, they should have kissed, but I just... It didn't feel _right _at this moment. It will happen, soon -I won't leave you guys anticipating that point for too long. (I'm not that mean). So yeah, I guess to sum this chapter up: Alec's perspective, of himself attempting to be more confident in front of Magnus, in which there are points where he is, and isn't. But that's Alec for ya. I wrote this at like 2 am in the morning by the way... So if there are spelling mistakes tell me! I really do try to strive for these to be the best they can be, and I'll be honest; I do have a hard time writing and editing them on my own... But you guys make me want to continue on and shoot for the stars!  
>Don't stop reviewing, because really reviews do inspire me to keep going. Without them, I don't know where this would be at the moment.<br>Want another snippet? Review with either 'A' or 'B'. Both are good options, I must say so myself, but it all depends on what you guys vote for!**

**Let's get it to 190! (I wouldn't mind 200 either [;)**

**Amber,**


	18. Dear Prudence

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

_**Dear Prudence  
><strong>  
>"Dear Prudence open up your eyes, Dear Prudence see the sunny skies, The wind is low<br>the birds will sing, that you are part of everything, Dear Prudence,  
>won't you open up your eyes?"<em>

* * *

><p>Warm humid air floating all around Magnus, as he slowly came to, was all he could feel. And fresh pungent lake water wafted through his nose, tingling his senses—essentially waking him up. Technically that was the jist of it, what he could sense and feel, but as he trailed his finger tips around the space of his body—his eyes still closed—he brushed along the curves and dents of compacted sand, along short tiny bristles of grass patches sticking out in random places, and to Magnus' surprise his fingers stopped dead on soft warm skin.<p>

Magnus' eyes shot open, bright yellow light pierced his vision, and he reached a hand up in front of his face to block it. Magnus turned his head to his right side sharply, not at all coherent, definitely not extremely aware of his surroundings, and was met by the image of a sleeping boy. A beautiful sleeping boy, who's cheeks were just as rosy pink, as they were naturally, during sleep. A boy, whose dimple which pierced his left cheek stood out more predominately, and seemed to sleep with a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Alec was lying in the same fashion as Magnus, sprawled out on his back, with his head turned to the side, one arm slung over his head in a bent arrow shape. The muscles which lined his arms, were coiled and corded so strong under his shirt, that they staggeringly defined and outlined ever curve and dip to Alec's upper body—a sight which Magnus didn't mind. Alec's chest rose then fell, rose again, then fell—all in a sort of rhythmical harmonic peace. Magnus laid there watching the movements Alec made in his sleep, yes almost in the same fashion as a stalker would, but he couldn't help it.

His mind pulled him towards the image of Alec, or more literally Magnus' whole _being_ shifted to Alec, and everything that made him who he was. Magnus yearned for this boy, which he didn't entirely know, in a way he couldn't comprehend because of its vaulting depth, and that scared Magnus. It scared him more than the thought of his father wrapping his hands around his skin, and pressing into it hard, with his feverish ripe green eyes starring Magnus down. Because really, Magnus had _never _felt this way about anyone before. It was all so new to him, and Magnus, being who he was; hated when unsuspected things snuck up on him. In which, Alec was that very thing. Magnus' body and mind basically begged him to touch Alec, caress his cheek, dance his fingertips across the top of his chest, lean down to brush his lips against Alec's...

It was slowly driving him insane, pushing him over a phantom edge. Magnus was lucky enough that he had actually fallen asleep that night; with the idea and mindset of Alec laying down beside him, setting his senses on high emotion—making his heart race at an unstable speed, he was astonished that he could accomplish the impossible. Somehow, Alec had passed out within the blink of an eye, and light snores emitted from his thin pink lips as he slept at first—and shortly after that turned into silent whispers in the night. He slept so peacefully, almost as if his dreams were never nightmares, and nothing could steal him away from the fantasies within his mind. Magnus wished he was like that—one to never stir from a nightmare—but it could never be that way for him. It would never be.

They had almost kissed. That was something Magnus couldn't and wouldn't ever try to deny. And he had definitely wanted it to happen... But as he saw the bright lights of the fireflies burst all around them, fluttering up from the small patches of grass in the sand, and watched with contentment as Alec seized up in a boyish kind of excitement at his marvellous surroundings, a piece of Magnus broke. Or more so, shattered. Knowing, that Magnus, himself, had went into this whole _friendship _based upon false pretences, while Alec was merely hopelessly falling into a steady rhythm on his own; made Magnus contract and freeze, pain skillfully gliding its way throughout his body.

Magnus couldn't do this. He didn't want to use Alec for William's petty and random spitefulness towards Alec. But he knew without a doubt that he had to, due to the consequences which could arise, between his and William's friendship. And possibly, sometime soon, the sudden rush of emotions Magnus felt towards Alec would dissipate, and vanish. Or at least, that is what he hoped for, because without a doubt, he knew that if this thing between them, led to its destined destination, Magnus would have fallen into an even stronger twist of webs—one which he would be unable to get out of.

There was one thing certain about this whole situation, that he could deduct from their night, and that was that Alec was either gay or bisexual—the only other explanation for the way he was acting, was that he was straight, with a partial gay tendency to stray from the crowd once in awhile, and Magnus highly doubted that option.

Alec held himself _well_, Magnus had to admit, in front of others—really, if William had never stitched the idea into Magnus' mind of Alec being gay, and if Magnus was never to interact with Alec fully—he would have never guessed, that this shy, sweet, bashful boy was gay. Just like no one else would have either. Except for William.

"Good morning," Alec smiled, opening up his bright livid lake blue eyes slowly, almost as if he was taunting Magnus in having to wait to see the full expanse of the color. Magnus returned the smile, and sat up, resting his weight onto his elbows which he dug into the sand. Another thing he was thankful for: the pure blissful heat which encompassed them all night long. Magnus at some point had returned his grey cut offs and orange tank top to his body, but Alec had only slipped on his black long sleeve—leaving his thick soccer muscled legs on display for Magnus to swoon and melt for. So the heat was good, it kept them warm, and for awhile kept Magnus' mind at bay.

"Morning, _Alexander._" Magnus purred. There was really something about his name, which made Magnus want to sing it to the wind all day long. "Hungry?" Magnus pointed upwards, above their heads, where the three apple trees surrounded them—but at this time of day, didn't shadow them from the piercing rays of sunlight, casting down towards them. The apples wouldn't be enough to quench their hunger or thirst, but it was enough to sustain them until they got back to Alicante.

"Very." Alec sat up, and jumped to his feet in a hurry. He reached for the apples closest overhead, standing on the tips of his toes. His shirt rose as he did so, revealing a pale ivory strip of skin just above the waist band of Alec's black boxers. Magnus turned his head away, and chastised himself. He couldn't get carried away with gazing at Alec far too long; that was not who he was, and was definitely not a part of the plan. Magnus had to continue to remind himself that Alec was to essentially _fall _for him, _trust _him—not the other way around. "Want one?" Alec tapped Magnus on the side of his ribs with his sand covered foot. A cheeky and strangely comfortable gesture.

"Don't mind if I do," Magnus took an apple from the palm of Alec's hand, brushing his fingers over Alec's as he did so, and bit into it; revelling in the sweet juices that flowed out of the apple and onto his lips. Alec sat down across from him, taking a bite of his apple as well. Magnus licked his lips slowly, narrowing his eyes in a sultry manner. He was a tease, and he knew that, but most of the time he did things involuntarily and absent-minded. And in that regard, Magnus found himself being overly suggestive when in the presence of Alec; sometimes on purpose, and other times without conviction. "So, lovely, are you up for another swim? Or should I get you back to your parents?"

"You make it sound like you took me out on a date, and my parents are waiting for curfew to be broken." Alec laughed, and shook his head, taking another bite out of his apple.

"Do you... want that, Alexander?" Magnus had no idea why he asked that, but he just did, and watched Alec nearly choke on a piece of his apple, gasping slightly while thumping his chest with a bawled up fist, attempting to clear his throat.

"What? A date—what? No," Alec nearly shouted, almost loosing grip of the apple in his hands, but saving it at the last minute before it hit the sandy ground. Magnus face fell. "—Well, I mean, what, uhh, what do you want? We're friends..." Alec added mostly as an after thought, his voice dropping lower, "right?" Alec looked up, and starred soulfully into Magnus' eyes. It was amazingly endearing and sweet the way Alec fumbled around his words whenever he was nervous; and the bright crimson flush which took hold of his cheeks and the look within his eyes, made Alec that much more innocent and unaware. And in turn, spurred Magnus' desires even more.

Magnus had to decide in that moment, if he should spring something on Alec or not. It was all about timing to him, because literally time was the essential key to holding things together. It only took a simple moment, to take someone away from this world—to fall in love with someone unsuspecting—to devastatingly destroy someone... And right now, here, watching Alec's charcoal black hair rustle in the sweet crisp breeze of the morning lake air, as his eyes glittered with an unusual flicker of light; Magnus knew that this wasn't the moment.

"Very good friends, I would say after yesterday. Yes?"

"Mhm," Alec smiled and nodded his head. But, there was something about the twinge in his eyes, that made Magnus think he wanted to say more; _so much more._

"And as a _friend,_" Magnus drawled out the word 'friend', watching Alec's angular eyebrows raise a bit on his creamy forehead. "I am going to take you out for breakfast, lovely." Magnus stood up and brushed the sand off of his grey cut offs, with the back of his tan hand, and fixed the way his orange glitter-littered tank top fell around his torso. "Well, come on then, we haven't go _all day. _I'm sure Maryse is freaking out by now."

"Nah," Alec stood up, and swiped his hands over his boxers, which were covered in sand at the back. Not that Magnus would admit it, but yes, he did check out Alec's butt, but only for a suave crucial lingering moment. "I don't think it will be that bad. I'm seventeen, she knows I have a life to live," he made his way over to Magnus' car, and took his dark washed jeans, and Levi's out of the back seat. And in impeccable speed, he dressed himself, and hoped into the front seat. Magnus followed his lead, swivelled around the front hod of his car, and sank down onto the plush leather drivers seat. "What's the place called, that we're going to?"

"A little place called Dante's. I only ever take Jem there—so now that's another thing you should feel highly blessed for, _Alexander_." Magnus winked, and drove forward, further onto the sandy lake front, and swerved around, so he could drive through the opening into the woods.

"I didn't ask you to take me to these places, you know," Alec huffed in the seat beside him. Snaking his arms over his chest in defiance. Magnus looked to him, and couldn't help but grin at the look that was on Alec's face. He had the appearance of a little boy who was denied a trip to the amusement park on a hot summer day.

"Oh lovely, I think I can remember someone _insisting_ that they came along with me to the lake, yesterday..." Magnus laughed, winding his way through the narrow dirt packed roadways of the forest. Was it something about the way the sun cast its rays all around the forest—that made everything seemingly more defined, sharper, and vibrant in color—or was there just something wrong with Magnus' eyes and overall senses?

"That's because you suggested I come!" Alec turned his eyes on Magnus, his voice loud and abrupt, struggling against the confines of Magnus' car. Magnus couldn't help but laugh even more, at how easy it was to get some form of a rise out of Alec. And the look on Alec's face was just too much to handle, once again.

"Oh Alexander," Magnus swiped under his right eye with the pad of his thumb, faking the appearance of tears trailing out of his eyes, "you're so disastrously cute—"

"Cute? You think I'm cute?" Alec's expression turned brighter in nature—that is, if an expression could simply do so. The corners of his lips twitched up at the corners, but he held resistance, ushering himself to essentially dim the light that glowed within him, after Magnus had utter the word 'cute'. And indeed cute he was.

"Alexander, have you taken a good look at yourself, before?"

"No, well, yes. I just, I don't know. I wouldn't say I was cute or anything..." Alec blushed fiercely his face turning two shades darker with a pungent red scarlet crimson color. Magnus had a hard time keeping his eyes on the road ahead of him; having Alec beside him was more than enough of a distraction, let alone the fact that he was blushing like a sailor—a color Magnus loved to see on Alec.

"Well, I'm telling you that you are. And no one ever doubts me."

"No one at all?" Alec teased.

"No one."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ****I'm so sorry you guys! It's been six days, I feel terrible! There was just a ton of things happening at school, leading up to spring break, that I literally had no time to write, and or update this story. I've spent all morning trying to get this right, but alas, I am not too confident about this chapter, so sorry :\! Expect better things to come, I guess! Basically, in this chapter I was trying to show what Magnus was thinking about their almost kiss that night, and how things were starting to shift and change, and how he knew he had to be careful. I also wanted to show how Alec is becoming even more comfortable around Magnus, but still he does have his moments were he can't piece together a proper sentence, but hey, that's Alec for ya! This lovable adorably easily embarrassed boy. As a little treat, for making you guys wait so long, I will be uploading another fic, called 'Angel, Baby.' today, which is a Patch and Nora one-shot, from the Hush, Hush series. I thought that would be enough as compensation; I will be posting another chapter to this soon too! I promise, just give me a day or two, so I can catch up on changing a few things in my overall story line, and then I'll be good to go!**

**Well, most if not all of you chose option 'B', and well here it is** **(;**

_"Magnus continued to kiss and nip at the heated skin, before he slowly and seductively trailed his tongue along the rim of Alec's jeans."_

**Review pretty please? I love reading your reviews!  
>Let's get it to 200! (or more!)<strong>

**Amber,**


	19. Ask me Why

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER NINETEEN**

_**Ask me Why  
><strong>  
>"If I cry, It's not because I'm sad, but you're the only love that I've ever had.<br>Ask me why, I'll say I love you, And I'm always  
>thinking of you<em>_."_

* * *

><p>"ALEXANDER!" Maryse nearly shattered Alec's ear drums, as he peaked his head into the front living room, where Maryse was structurally sitting in a peach colored arm chair—her face, indicated to Alec that she had probably been waiting in that spot for a couple of hours, already. Deep, dark circles lined the skin just shy of her blazing blue eyes, and her mouth was pulled into a hard scowl. Alec shuttered at her tone of voice. Yes, it was now more than evident that she had been waiting up for him for a long, long time.<p>

"Hey mom..." Alec stood up straight, and walked further in the room, from around the corner he had been peaking out of. He clasped his hand at the back of his neck, and rubbed the skin there nervously.

"Where were you? Jace didn't see you after school, Izzy didn't either, no one saw you! You weren't answering your phone! Alec," Maryse rambled then stood from her seat, and walked over to the middle of the room, where Alec was no standing. "Do you know how worried I was? What if... What if something happened to you..." Maryse gazed at him with that same type of fragility that cut right through Alec's heart. That same gaze usually, melted his soul entirely, and destroyed his conscience because he knew without a doubt that he could have stopped what happened four years ago... Alec turned his head away. In everything Maryse did, she put her full and honest undivided emotion into it, which was mostly a good thing, and in other cases a terrible horrible fate. Alec cringed, he should have thought of Maryse being worried—it wasn't fair of him to do that to his mother, who had lost so much already, because of him...

Alec shook his head; thoughts in the same context of those, always led to the memories, and he had been practising so hard, for four years to forget. "Mom, I'm sorry. I should have mentioned something, but I just went out to this lake with a friend—" His throat seized up at the word friend. He was treading in hot water now with Magnus, and he knew that—But really he couldn't help how he felt; and essentially he 'felt' so much for Magnus, he couldn't quite wrap his head around the first time that the onslaught of feelings had come into play.

"Alec!" Maryse scolded. "Who is she? If you did anything at that lake, I swear to god..." Maryse eclipsed out of her somber mood, and turned back into the dotting parent. Which now, Alec wished she hadn't. His face burned bright red at her accusations—Alec felt as if his skin was bursting into flames, relentless on simmering down.

"I—Mom—No! I was with Magnus," Alec gingerly admitted, his eyebrows pierced sharply together on his forehead in doubt. Maryse's eyes flickered with an uncertain emotion—as if she, herself, was trying to find her way through a labyrinth, but alas couldn't find the end—the full truth. Alec desperately wanted to know what she was thinking; Maryse was _always _thinking—sorting out things within her own mind, attempting to decipher things in her own sort of way. She was stubborn like that; always so concentrated on her views, rather than taking account of others.

She straightened her emotions, her face instantly reforming back to its delicate but firm motherly look. "That's good that you are expanding your friendships, Alec. Just next time give me or your father a warning, okay?" Maryse placed the pad of her thumb along the angular arch of Alec's eyebrow, not meeting his eyes. And frankly, Alec felt as if he were given a subtle blessing—he didn't want to come face to face with the emotions swimming in her eyes. Because like Alec, Maryse usually, if not all the time, barred her emotions to the world through her vibrant glassy blue eyes.

Alec raised his hand to hers, and interlocked their fingers together, bringing her hand back down to her side."I promise, next time I will." Alec smiled faintly, to the ground, and shook his head, laughing a bit, "If there is a next time, that is." Maryse smiled, without her teeth up at him, and fixed her pajama shirt, lazily.

"I hope you're hungry. I've been slaving away all morning to make a nice Saturday brunch." Maryse said heartily, retreating her steps to the doorway, which led into their brightly lit kitchen. She had some weird sort of bounce in her step today, which made Alec think, that besides her worrying about him and where he was last night—that something good had happened, which had made her happier than she was as of late. It was a nice sight to see, because usually his mother was somber, and, well, for a lack of better phrasing, overly motherly.

"Uhh," Alec scratched the back of his neck, following her steps into the kitchen, in long lengthy strides. "Magnus already took me out for breakfast, sorry..." He trailed off, stopping abruptly in the middle of the kitchen, when he saw just how massive the brunch Maryse had made, was. All across the breakfast nook table, which sat in the indent of a bay window off to the far left side of the kitchen, lay rows upon rows of perfectly laid dishes of food. There were fresh flaky butter rolls staked so high, it was on the verge of toppling over, a plate designated for a dozen Eggs Benedict's with fresh cyan pepper lacing the top as a garnish, steaming fluffy pancakes and waffles on one tray, a wide assortment of fruits on another, and a whole tray dedicated to strips of salty bacon and plump sausages.

"Are you trying to make us have diabetes or something?" Alec asked in astonishment—both, at the amount of food, and at the gesture of Maryse cooking this huge meal. "Do you actually think, me, Jace and Iz, can pack away all of this?"

"It isn't just for you three—"

"Okay. Did you think, me, Jace, Iz and _dad _could eat all of this?" Alec gestured with his arms out wide, to the table. He noticed then, that there were seven place settings instead of five...

"Hey," Jace walked through the archway which was connected to the hallway, that led down to their bedrooms. This kitchen had an insane amount of entrances. One which led from the formal living room, another from the front foyer, one leading into the bedroom section of the house, and finally a small door which led to the backyard—or back woods as it was. "Missed you yesterday," Jace said gaily, wrapping his arms around Alec's shoulders from the back, nudging his head into the crook of Alec's neck.

"Off," Alec semi-laughed, wiggling out of his grasp, and turned to Jace, who looked as if he had just woken up; which he probably did—his hair plastered to the right side of his face, stuck there by small swatches of sweat. He had a lopsided grin stretched over his face, and was clad in blue checkered pajama pants, and a sheer white t-shirt, which showed off his bronze defined muscles well.

"Where did you go? I almost had a heart attack Alexander!" Jace laughed, as Alec shoved at his chest, having to restrain his laughter as well.

"I was just out, with Magnus." Alec shrugged, and leaned back against the marble counter top, crossing his arms lazily over his chest.

"All night? What were you two doing?" Jace quirked an eyebrow high, and tilted his head to the side. Alec straightened his back in horror that he had been caught somehow—caught for what though?—and was about to protest; defend himself in a way—just before his eyes caught a flash of red sweeping up, from behind Jace.

"Hey Alec!" Clary smiled, and crossed the room to stand beside Jace. She leaned the side of her hip into Jace's almost absently, and smiled up at Alec. Her hair was a bright birds nest of scarlet curls, her cheeks flush—highlighting her freckles even more, and her eyes a livid flickering emerald green. Alec gazed at her, astonishment lacing his features. It was as if she were some type of foreign invader, who snuck into their house.

"Hey, when did you get here?" Alec asked.

"Slept over," Clary shrugged. Alec's eyes widened, and her turned to face Maryse, who didn't seem fazed at all by the fact Clary had slept over. It wasn't exactly a set in stone rule that the Lightwood kids weren't allowed to have friends of the opposite sex sleepover at the house—especially if there was sexual tension between them—but it was still something none of them dared to do. Maryse made her way over to the fridge, and began to shuffle through it, looking for god knows what else she could possibly set on the table.

"Mom actually let her sleepover?" Alec whispered, leaning in closely to Jace.

"Yeep, I just asked and she said it was fine, as long as we were under her roof. Simon's here too—although, I have no idea where he has gone off to..." Jace glanced past his shoulder, and trained his eyes on the archway that led into the hall. As he did so, he snaked his arm around Clary's waist tenderly, and brought her even closer to his body—but not in a way, which could seem demanding or sexual, but in a very friendly un-Jace like way. As if he were treating her as an equal entity, that he wished to take care of, with the greatest gentleness. "Anyways," Jace returned his eyes to Alec, and placed his elbow on the rise of the island counter top, resting his chiseled chin in the palm of his hand. "What were you and Magnus up to? Where'd you go?"

"You were out with Magnus?" Clary asked, surprised. Definitely surprised; her expression and tone of voice said it all.

"Yeah, uhh, he took me to that lake of his," Alec answered gingerly.

"What lake?" Clary questioned, narrowing her small features in wonder. Alec realized then, that Magnus _hadn't_ been lying to him, about the fact that besides Magnus and his mother, Alec was the only other person to lay eyes on that lake. Alec began to sift through his mind for a reasonable explanation, grappling for the right answer to give Clary, which would elude her away from the topic entirely.

"This lake near Idris." Alec said in a rush, "it took us a long time to get there, and that's why we just stayed the night at this, uhh, hotel—because it would've taken a long time to get back, and it would've been really late. So yeah," Alec took a deep inhale of breath, and shrunk his shoulders now. Clary smirked, and unlatched Jace's hand from her waist, and came to stand at Alec's side. She patted him on the shoulder sweetly, and nudged him in the side with her elbow.

"Okay, we'll go with that," she whispered faintly and winked. _Winked. _Somehow, she knew something; and Alec had no idea how. He thought he was doing a pretty fantastic job of keeping his emotions hidden ever since he walked into the house. Because really, on the inside he was floating in an abyss of happiness. His stomach still continued to do those unsettling ungodly flips and turns, his heart was still racing, pounding against the rib bones in his chest, asking silently to burst free. Alec's hands were still insanely clammy, slicked with sweat—after being with Magnus all of yesterday, and the partial bit of this morning, Alec couldn't seem to calm down, from the high he felt.

Maybe Clary could see straight through the barrier he was holding in front of himself? Maybe she was a much more perceptive person than Alec was led on to believe. He couldn't show indifference towards her though, because by doing that, he would only confirm whatever suspicions and or accusations she had within her mind.

"I told you the cream one! Not the white one!" Alec heard Isabelle shout, just shy of the doorway, as she swept into the kitchen. She was a heated frenzy of black waves, and glowing ivory skin. She had a scowl on her face, and was wearing a limp dark red tank top, and short spandex shorts, which shoved of her hour glass figure greatly. She basically flew past them all, beating Clary to the table, and threw herself into a seat on the right end. Alec watched Simon stalk after her, his glasses laying haphazardly on the bridge of his nose, his hair damp, dripping small droplets of water onto his plain dark green t-shirt. Alec was momentarily disappointed that Simon's shirt didn't have something catchy across the front, this time.

"Izzy, do you honestly think guys can tell the difference between cream and white? Light colors all look the same to me!" Simon huffed, and sat down in the seat opposite of her. Isabelle starred at him menacingly, and both Alec and Jace knew that look very well. They both turned to each other at the same time, Alec and Jace, shared a subtle glance, and both raised their fists to their mouths, attempting to hold back a strong hysteria of laughter.

Clary sat down next to Isabelle sheepishly, and Maryse returned to the table with a pitcher of orange juice in one hand, and apple juice in the other. Just the thought of the apple juice, pulled Alec back to his time with Magnus. Possibly for the next couple of days, he would find solace in anything that reminded him about Magnus, and he was okay with that. He really didn't find any harm in his mind shifting towards the thought of Magnus anymore, because really all the thoughts were _oh so good. _  
>"What did he do Izzy?" Maryse shook her head, and poured a glass of orange juice into her cup. It was weird having Maryse not care about having a house full of teenagers to deal with, while Robert was no where to be seen at the moment.<p>

"He used _my_ towel, and now its filthy!" Isabelle craned her neck up to peer at Maryse.

"Izzy, you can't be serious," Jace shook his head, and took the seat next to Clary, "that's the reason you just stormed in here like a tornado?"

"Well yes! Also the fact that he absolutely kept pissing me off—"

"Izzy," Maryse scolded shaking her head.

"The fact that he absolutely kept _ticking _me off," Isabelle corrected herself, "last night, just adds to it."

"I swear, you tripped into that mud bank on your own," Simon sighed, and reached out to grab a butter roll from the table, and ripped into it savagely, savouring the taste and fresh heat that wafted out of it in waves. Alec sat down next to him, and grabbed a few strips of bacon—probably the only thing he could stake down at the moment.

"I did not!" Isabelle placed her small palms flat on the table top, and leaned over the large space, to place her face rather close to Simon's. Simon shrinked back, and fixed his glasses on the bridge of his nose with his index finger. "You put out your foot on purpose. What, were you thinking I wouldn't notice? And then you could be the hero who saved me from that muddy mess and helped me up?"

"Oh yes Izzy, those were my intentions. You seem to have a knack for figuring everything out, down to a 'T'." Simon mocked, and grinned at her in a malicious manner. Isabelle's mouth went slack. No one ever really talked back to her in such a demanding tone—one usually shied away from getting into some sort of confrontation with Isabelle. She was this sultry beautiful 'come hither' girl on the outside, but once you really got to know her, she was this tough, warrior goddess, with a strangely abrasive and challenging nature.

Alec wanted to congratulate Simon for having the sheer courage to take arms against her. But he thought better of it; and instead sat there, watching as Isabelle's face shifted with multiple emotions. They all fell into a sort of comfortable silence after that, loading their plates high with food and just eating and enjoying the company really. Maryse had left the table five minutes into eating, saying she had to be somewhere important, and told them to clean up after they were finished.

"Sebastian's having a party on Sunday." Clary said, raising a piece of her pancake to her mouth.

"Sunday? Is he insane? We have school on Monday," Alec quirked his head to the side, pursing his thin lips together in wonder.

"Mmm, that's what usually happens around here. A party is a party, and whenever one comes up, you don't skip out on it." Clary shrugged, and leaned back in her chair a bit. She looked like a doll sitting in the chair, so short and petite in frame size, as compared to Jace who was sitting beside her. "And besides, this one is a kind of—stay the night party. We can all get rides in the morning together, instead of showing up at home hungover before we leave." Clary smiled, a devious vixen type of smile.

She was daring but sweet, cautious but strongly perceptive. Everything about her somehow contradicted itself, creating this confident, kind, understanding girl. Now, Alec could partially see what attracted Jace to her. Jace liked girls who were stubborn, but had a heart all at the same time—girls who he could treat as an equal, rather than something fragile—and that fit Clary perfectly.

"Okay, we're going. We haven't been to a party yet, since we've moved here." Jace smirked, and rested his arm around the back of Clary's chair, and with the other arm reaching up high in the air, Jace stretched his back out.

"Will you be there Simon?" Isabelle asked, rather nicely, batting her thick long eyelashes in a subdued cute manner.

"Yeah, of course. Sebastian's parties are usually insanely awesome." Simon suggested, and stood from the table, taking his plate with him over to the sink which was overlooked by a large window, gazing out onto their portion of the back woods.

"Well, then I'm not going." Isabelle tipped her head back to regard him, and smirked viciously. Simon just rolled his eyes, and continued to scrub down his plate with a bright neon orange wash cloth. As a side thought, Alec couldn't help but feel like Simon and Clary just belonged so naturally in this scenario with them. Clary sitting close to Jace, talking in whispered hushes about god knows what, Alec finishing off his pieces of bacon, whipping off the last lingering bits of sleep from his eyes, Simon scrubbing down his dishes as if it were a chore he naturally did everyday at their house, and Isabelle sitting with her legs kicked up on the table, picking at her nails.

"Iz, stop being rude." Alec shook his head, and picked up his plate, and made his way over to Simon.

"Si, who are we getting a ride with?" Clary leaned back in her chair a bit, red curls cascading around her, in a fiery intricate design.

"Probably Will and Magnus, I suppose." Simon shrugged, and took Alec's dish out of his hands. Alec shivered at Magnus' name. And mainly at the thought of Magnus being at the party with them lit some type of fire within Alec, setting his nerves on a speed rush. Sunday—tomorrow was Sunday. That didn't give nearly the amount of time Alec would have wished for, to settle his emotions down, before seeing Magnus again. But then again, he shouldn't be so nervous about a public event. The probability of Magnus spending most of his night around Alec was slim to none—he had other friends at the party to be around, friends who he was much closer with, than he was with Alec. Friends who had multiple parts of Magnus' life interwoven with their own.

But for some nagging reason, Alec felt that, the mere fact Magnus had brought him to the lake yesterday, an obvious sentimental place for Magnus—made Alec feel as if, he already had a piece of Magnus' past and or life to hold on to. A sort of hope for future events to arise.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry this was a day late! The documents that I edit this on, weren't working yesterday. But you'll be happy to know, that with the added time I was given, I have finished two more chapters, that I will post soon (: ! The first part of this chapter, with Alec and Maryse is somewhat pre-luding to something that happened in the past (which will be explained in a coming chapter), that gives indication as to why Alec is trying to avoid Maryse' gaze. The rest, is to somewhat infuse Clary and Simon even more into the story line, because yes they do play a part in it. As do all of the characters, in their own little ways. I also wanted to show how Jace is very gentle with Clary, and how Alec sees that as something very different from any of the other times Jace has taken a fond liking to a girl. And if you haven't noticed by now, I like starting out relationships in a way, which makes it much more tangible, and I feel as if starting it by the two sides being at some type of odds gives it that much more realism. Because seriously, most if not all of my guy friends piss the hell out of me, but after even the shortest amount of time, I learn to love them.  
>Party? Well... That should be interesting to write, I've got a few things up my sleeve (;<strong>

**Review please! All of your guys' reviews are amazing, and I just smile like crazy when I get a notification.**  
><strong>Let's get it to 230!<strong>

**Amber,**


	20. All my Loving

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY**

_**All my Loving  
><strong>  
>"Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, Tomorrow I'll miss you; Remember I'll always be true.<br>And then while I'm away, I'll write home ev'ry day,  
>And I'll send all my loving to you<em>_."_

* * *

><p>Magnus walked into the front foyer of his estate, unable to wash away the permanent predominant smile on his face. He felt... weightless—light—almost like the sensation you got when descending from those tower drops, at the towns carnival every summer, where your stomach dropped beneath you, and there was this unmistakable rush of air, fear and giddiness all wrapped in one bundle of excitement. Had yesterday, and that morning actually transpired? Or was it all some type of fantastical illusion Magnus' mind deemed to conjure up?<p>

Which ever option it was—and Magnus preferred the latter—he couldn't deny the fraction of a minute seizures constricting his heart, every time he envisioned those baby blues, intent on watching him, searching him, and that thin lipped half smile which basically begged Magnus to stare. And at this rate, Magnus was bound to have a heart attack, sooner than later if he didn't stop himself. He was actually surprisingly unhappy about the fact that he had, had to say goodbye to Alec, left wondering when the next moment would arise for them to be together again, and have even more conversations. What was happening to him? Magnus had the odd sensation that he was falling into a sort of delirious state, of being overly wanting and yearning of Alec when he was never around—and when he was, everything seemed to be made better by Alec's presence.

"Oh god," Magnus said out loud, his voice vibrating and bouncing around the dark cherry wood wall panels in waves. He felt as if he were turning into one of those cliche movie characters, where they constantly think of the other person, once that person is out of their reach. When Magnus was with Alec, it was fine, he could be himself, or more so a rather subtle portion of himself—but now that Alec was out of his grasp, moving along with his day, Magnus couldn't keep calm for the life of him. But he needed to stop, or else it would all spin out of control; and he couldn't—_wouldn't _let it slip out of control. If he did, everything would fail, and unravel harshly—and by then more than one person would get hurt. Magnus was determined to not let that happen; now only if Alec stopped being so alluring and otherwise adorable, he could make his plan work flawlessly...

"Magnus?" Gerald's deep tenor voice called from above. Magnus whipped his head to the side rather fast, and winced slightly—the skin around his jaw was still a bit too tender. Gerald was standing at the top of their grand staircase, his strong large hands clasped in front of him. He was wearing a dark blue-ish grey sweater, with a stitched 'X' trailing off of the neck line in a vibrant orange stitch, black straight legged jeans, and grey snake skin shoes. Very different and unusual from his customary attire, which mainly consisted of suits, tailored suits and even more suits of all different shades and colors.

"Yes?" Magnus turned fully to face the direction Gerald was. He hesitated though, looking down at himself, and what he was wearing. Definitely something Gerald would have disapproved of—that is if Gerald had seen him leave the house yesterday. Then Magnus noticed his arms were starkly bare, showing off the bruises which ran over the expanse of his tawny skin. Magnus sighed, and knew with the evidence held against him, Gerald would be none to happy, and give Magnus an emotional bitter taste of his mind. Magnus didn't look far enough into the future, to anticipate this, and now he wished he had.

"Where were you? I trust, not off doing something reckless, hmm?" Gerald seemed a bit calmer today than usual, but still there was no telling what could be boiling under the surface regarding Gerald. He was like a ticking time bomb; just give him a partial nudge and he could blow up in the most awful of ways. Gerald began to walk down the grand staircase, slowly and pointedly—trailing his bulky fingers along the indents and designs of the staircases banister.

"I took Alexander out for the day. I was just trying to get to know more about your colleagues son, and his interests. That sort of thing," Magnus held his chin high, and spoke with a smile. Hopefully, his father wouldn't unmask his partial lie, and see the hidden truth within his words. Magnus was exceptionally good at gliding around the truth—warping it to fit his ideals in the moment at hand. But then again, he had learnt all of his tricks on how to bend the truth from Gerald himself—there was no telling if Gerald could be any more perceptive of what Magnus was attempting to hide or not.

"Ah, that's my boy. Interweaving your way into the heart and mind of those who will come in handy one day." Gerald clapped earnestly—only for the simple fact that Magnus was showing qualities of his father. Magnus had always wondered if that was Gerald's only goal in life: to make Magnus into a carbon copy of himself. In which it would never work... Magnus was his mothers son; that was something hard to miss by those who had known Palmer. While Gerald had been focused and driven by his occupation and the stock market, Palmer was strangely obsessed with music—especially the piano—and books. Rows upon rows of books. And quite readily, that might have been the biggest reason, as to why Gerald cracked down hard on Magnus. Gerald didn't want to be anymore reminded of Palmer as Magnus did.

"Of course. I am sorry I didn't give Olive or Sarah any indication as to when I would be back," Magnus apologized, and puckered his lips tightly together; as Gerald came to stand directly in front of him. Magnus was tall, he towered over most, if not all, of his friends—but Gerald was even taller than him, and Magnus felt like cowering away from his father in that moment. But held his ground, not wanting to show Gerald any form of weakness. And really, Magnus was not weak or fragile; he could handle himself well against even the strongest forces.

"Yes, next time, make sure to do so. I do worry Magnus, even if you think I don't..." Gerald said in a low strangled whisper, and raised his hand to Magnus' face; Magnus absently flinched away from his touch—his body was scared of Gerald, no matter how much Magnus tried to show indifference, and stand his ground. His mind and body never seemed to work together properly. Gerald regarded him with calm watchful eyes; there was a silent flicker of pain intermingling with the ripe green acid color of his eyes, but within a moment of silence, it was gone and Gerald lowered his hand back down to his side. "So tell me more about Alec, he seems like a very strapping young man." Gerald clasped his hands behind his back this time, and rocked backwards on his heels.

"He has a keen fascination in literature, that is amazing actually," Magnus answered, to Gerald and himself. It was crazy the amount of pieces Alec had read, and equally as crazy that most, if not all, of them were some of Magnus' favourites. From the words written by Thomas De Beverly of Sir Galahad, to those spoken words by Shylock of the Merchant of Venice; Alec's knowledge of literature met no bonds, and it created another side of Alec that Magnus wanted desperately to explore. "He doesn't remind me of Maryse though. She's more of a person, with straight forward views, while Alexander is just all over the place with his." And that was the truth, in Magnus' perception.

"Analyzing. I like it!" Gerald grabbed Magnus by the shoulder in a rush of sharp movements, and pulled him into his side, semi-hugging him. Yes, there were times where Gerald could be exactly the guy Magnus had always wanted him to be—the father, who was always proud of the littlest things his son accomplished. And right now, Magnus was going to bask in that glory for the little amount of time he was undoubtedly given. "I got the same impression the day before yesterday, as well. He seems indecisive, does he not?" _I hope not, _Magnus thought, _I don't want him to be indecisive about me.  
><em>  
>"Yeah, I suppose. He tends to stumble on his words a bit," Magnus shrugged out of his fathers reach, and fixed his orange tank, over the tops of his shoulders.<p>

"He is exactly like his father. I went to school with Robert when I was your age, an interesting man he was back then." Gerald had this thoughtful glint to his eyes. He raised his right hand to his chin, and arched his fingers underneath. "He had met Maryse in tenth grade—I remember when her family had moved into town. Her and Marian where all the talk there was for days."

"Love at first sight, was it?" Magnus slightly mocked, finding it a bit weird that Maryse, Robert, and Gerald had known each other from the past. Magnus was under the impression that Gerald had never met Robert before their dinner, or Maryse before she began to work for Valentine and Gerald. But quite possibly it was the way Gerald wanted it to appear in the presence of everyone else—as if they were all formally business partners rather than long time friends, to keep up with a structured image for those who were unaware of their past. Alicante was known to be the town made of impressions—how you acted, spoke, and essentially presented yourself could determine your faith and esteem among the towns people.

"I wouldn't know. Robert was always very private about his feelings towards others. He usually showed resistance to any relationship he was in." Magnus wanted to know more, so much more about this partial secretive past of their parents. It was all so interesting, finding out the type of people they had once been, before settling down and creating families of their own. But just as he was about to sleuth even further into the truth behind the adults, a loud harsh knock come from behind—the brass lion knocker was being bounced off of the black doors front lazily, from whoever was outside.

"I'll get that," Magnus suggested, and turned to the door, walking in short strides.

"I'll be in my study. Do see it fit to come get me, if it isn't one of your friends." Gerald said, before he retreated around one of the many corners of the dark house, in the direction which led to his lavish dome shaped office. Magnus continued on to the front door, and opened it swiftly. Strips of silver caught his eyes almost instantly, and he smiled, recognizing who those silver locks belonged to. James was standing in front of him, with a small smile playing on his lips as well, his hair turned up completely to one side, in a silver fiery shape. He was wearing light creamy brown pants, which were cuffed at the end, a black with white stripes short sleeve shirt underneath a grey blazer.

"Fancy seeing you here, Jem. What a nice surprise." Magnus winked, and ushered James inside.

"Ah, yes. Who would have guessed you lived here?" James mocked, and kicked off his black sandals, and began to take to the staircase, making his way to Magnus' bedroom, as if this were his house as well. In fact, it was basically James, William, Johnathan, and Clary's second home. They were usually lurking around the halls at ungodly hours, at random—sometimes even when Magnus was not home. And it was really no problem at all to Gerald or Magnus. Their parents were Gerald's best colleagues—friends, so it was only fitting that he welcomed their children in with open arms, as they had done for Magnus so many times as well.

Olive and Sarah cared less as well, about teenagers wondering the halls of the house. They loved to cook enormous amounts of food for Johnathan and William, since those two were the ones who could pack away the most food. They also loved having Clary around—since she was basically the only other woman of the house, so to speak. They loved having a teenage girl to mentor, and toddle around. With Magnus they couldn't talk to him about the troubles of being a girl; and thank god they didn't.

Magnus stalked after James, up the stairs, down the dark hall, and into his bedroom. As soon as they stepped through the threshold, Magnus was hit by a wave of lemon and sweet rosemary perfumes, and the image of his room perfectly done up again. He shook his head briefly, then sauntered his way over to his bed, and slumped back; as James sat down on the gleaming scarlet red chair, situated just in front of his bright blue vanity table. Magnus loved color, he loved it a lot.

"How was your morning, Jem?" Magnus lifted his head, and turned his body to James. Magnus took to resting his head in the palm of his left hand, and lacing his fingers throughout his muffled hair, while his other hand was laid lazily over his hip bone. He saw James' eyes flicker momentarily to the bruises along Magnus' arms, but didn't act on it, and returned his liquid silver eyes to Magnus' face. Like Alec, James was respectful to keep dark secrets and truths silent—not wanting to disturb Magnus, and bring up things, which he did not feel suitable to talk about.

"Final check-ups." James tried to suppress the bright beaming smile on his face. "I'm home free Magnus," James leaned over, placing his elbows on the edge of his knees. He placed his face in his hands, slouching his back, and dipping his head low. "Home free..." His voice was muffled, but Magnus could hear the sheer and faithful bliss of happiness in James' voice. Magnus felt his heart stab with his own kind of happiness looking upon his friend, who was now officially a survivor of cancer—thanking God, for the days given, where he was blessed to see those glittering silver eyes, and full-hearted smile; without the restraint of sickness.

"I'm really happy for you Jem," Magnus got off his bed, and knelled in front of the chair James was sitting on. James looked up from his hands, and pushed himself forward off the chair, to hug Magnus around the shoulders, knocking Magnus and himself to the ground.

"Oh gosh, no more Cemo, no more hospitals, Magnus! I can finally drink like a sailor if I wanted too!" James said gaily, laughing, his body vibrating under the tips of Magnus' fingers as they continued to hug one another. He smelled of fresh bread, for some odd reason, and cinnamon—reminding Magnus of the sweet cinnamon smell of Alec's breath.

"I don't think I want to see you drunk Jem. I'm scared about all the _naughty_ things you could get yourself into," Magnus sat up a bit, and so did James; who took to rocking back on the balls of his feet. James' eyes were _blazing, _Magnus realized, with this new type of optimism. It was like watching steel pipes glitter in the full harsh rays of sun, during the months were new steel and iron buildings were being built in the hazy summer.

"Naughty? I don't have a naughty bone in my body—" James stopped himself, and pursed his lips at what he had just said; pinching his eyebrows together on his forehead wearily. They both burst out laughing after a moment of hesitation, clutching their hands around their stomachs, metaphorically dieing on Magnus' bedroom floor, at what James had implied. Oh yes, Magnus loved moments like these, when he could laugh about the stupidest things with anyone for hours, even if it made no sense to him why they continued to laugh. James was the best solace for that in fact; he was so care free, and had such a beautiful inviting soul—it was just too hard to _not _be able to open up ones heart to James Carstairs. Anyone who first met James, had a hard time not finding him the most lovable person you could ever meet.

"And besides," James continued, after he came down from his fit of laughter. "You're going to have to see me drunk tomorrow. Sebastian's parents are skipping out of town for a couple of days." James raised his left eyebrow high on his flawless forehead, and smirked.

"Party?" Magnus rhetorically asked. He knew the answer, without James even having to give him further indication.

"Why yes, that is what they call those things right?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ****I didn't want you guys to think Gerald was all that bad. Yes, he has his moments where he can be an absolute monster, but I wanted to show you guys that there is a reason behind his actions. (As there always is). Oh! And I kind of liked the idea (while I was writing this) of incorporating a little bit of the back story of the parents into this story. Tell me if you're okay with it or don't like it! (It really won't come up that much, just small bits here and there). Jem! I love Jem! I think I've mentioned that to you guys before... I just can't explain the amount of feelings I have towards this guy, it's crazy. I just had a pretty terrible day today, and needed some Jem in there to cheer me up. I really wanted to show how Jem is practically Magnus' best friend, other than William. Because really, Jem is the one who makes him happier, even in the darkest of times—and is essentially that understanding friend, who has seen worse things happen to Magnus, but would never press him about it, because he just _gets _Magnus, and knows who he is.  
>The party is in the next chapter! And who knows what could happen there (; ?<strong>

**Review, because yes, i'll admit... It does make the process go faster...**

**Amber,**


	21. Come and Get it

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY ONE**

_**Come and Get it  
><strong>  
>"If you want it, here it is. Come and get it, make your mind up fast. If you<br>want it anytime I can give it, But you better hurry  
>'cause it may not last."<em>

* * *

><p>Alec stood there, for possibly... Forty minutes? Trying to pick out everything that was fatuously wrong with the way he looked, in front of the over sized bathroom mirror. His hair was curled and waved at the tips; since he had viciously jumped out of the shower, and didn't bother to dry his hair properly. It gave him that sort of dishevelled look some people liked to opt. out for—but on him it just didn't suit his demeanour right—in his opinion. He almost looked as if he had spun out of his bed, literally <em>spun. <em>His hair was a mess of bangs going in separate directions, sweeping across his forehead, and the rest curled and waved in random spots at the tips.

Alec sighed. His hair was really, the least of his problems. The skin around his cheeks was so hot and flushed, for no apparent reason—that he didn't even want to step outside of the bathroom; in fear of the possible teasing, that could arise. His cheeks were as red as a fire cracker, with no indication as to when it would be burnt out. He had slipped on what he usually wore, and wondered if it was too subdued to wear to a party with people from their school who wore designer everything, and bright burst of color. All Alec could think to wear with even the faintest pop of color, was a white long sleeved sweater shirt, with pale grey-green stripes running across it. And of course, he was wearing dark black jeans, paired with his cream colored Levi's. But for some reason, he felt as if it wasn't good enough.

"Alec," Jace wedged himself through the bathroom door abruptly, pulling Alec's attention away from his image, and came to stand beside him, in front of the long and huge bathroom mirror. Jace raised his finger to Alec, or more so, raised his finger to what Alec was wearing—cocking his head to the side. "Planning on hitting up the chicks tonight?" Jace asked playfully and smirked lopsidedly, then bent down on the ground to stifle his way through the cabinet below the tiled sinks' counter top.

"No, not at all. What—you think it's too much? Too little?" Alec began to nervously pick at a stray loose thread of fabric at the hem of his shirt, anxiously biting the corner of his bottom lip. At this rate, he quite possibly could have the skin gnawed completely off of his lip by the end of the night. Jace gazed up from his position on the ground, and studied Alec's expression for a moment; his fiery golden eyes gliding all over Alec's face, before he returned to whatever he was doing in the cabinet.

"How about, just right. Does that sound okay for you sweet cheeks?" Jace had ducked his head fully into the cabinet by then, his voice sounded more like a refined blow horn, due to the encasing around him. But Alec couldn't mistake the sound of Jace's gruff low laugh. Jace pulled out a bottle of cologne which seemed to be unused, and stood up to face Alec once again. He was wearing light blue tattered jeans—in which the strips and distressed areas of his jeans, looked completely reasonable, and somehow rugged-sexy. He also had on a tight dark indigo t-shirt, with the J. Lindeberg crest in the corner. The shirt greatly showed off the expanse of his ample muscled chest, and hugged the muscles lining his abdomen nicely.

Somehow, the image of Jace standing in front of him, with his curly waves of golden hair, and shimmering golden eyes—Alec didn't feel as nervous as he would have before. He didn't feel that sudden rush of his heart, putter against his chest in weird uneven rhythms; pumping blood through his body unsteadily. And he definitely only felt a little, almost non-existent, hum wave through his body—unlike how it was before, just days ago. Things were changing, Alec could sense that much, and he had an odd sensation, that it was all because of Magnus.

"Yeah, that's all I needed to hear." Alec smiled half-heartily and held out his hand for the cologne bottle. Jace placed it in the palm of his hand, his fingers brushing against Alec's hand shortly. Alec looked down at the bottle: Sandal wood—the exact same scent as his body soap. Alec shakily sprayed himself twice, and handed it back to Jace, who did the same.

"Why are you so nervous?" Jace asked, cocking his head to the side, with a smug look on his face. "Is there a girl going, that you're scared you won't impress or what?" Jace had to hold back a laugh, in which he almost failed to do so.

"I'm not nervous..." Alec bit his lip again, but then instantly stopped himself in doing so; that wouldn't help in convincing Jace that he wasn't nervous, in the least. "And no, I—I'm not trying to impress anyone." Alec lied. Of course, at the back of his mind, even if he didn't _want _to recognize it, or admit to it, Alec wanted to impress Magnus. Plain and simple.

"Your hands are freakishly clammy Alec." Jace swiped the pads of his fingers over Alec's hand swiftly, before Alec could retract them and protest. "You're lying, I know it." Jace smiled again, and raised his eyebrow high, in an all knowing type of manner. He stood there in front of Alec, strong and tall—possibly relentless on letting Alec get away with anything so easily. Alec cursed his clammy hands, and his ivory skin tone; because otherwise there wouldn't be any other tell-tale signs of his nervousness.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alec squirmed past Jace and out into the hallway, crossing the short space, into his bedroom.

"Don't play dumb with me, Alec. If you hadn't guessed it by now, I know more about you than anybody else." Jace crossed his arms over his chest haughtily, standing his ground in the doorway of Alec's room. "And you're nervous as shit." Alec wanted to protest and say that there were things Jace really didn't know—that Alec would never be willing to share with him, or anyone for that matter. But he was willing to give Jace the benefit of the doubt, and sighed scumming to Jace's persistence, before the situation really got out of hand—before Jace decided to wrestle and pin Alec to the ground, screaming mercy.

"Okay _yes_, I'm nervous. What's it to you?" Alec whined, slumping down onto his fluffy bed, resting his palms facing downwards on his thick muscled thighs.

"Who is she?" Jace smiled, a triumphant smile, and walked the small distance to Alec's bed, sitting down beside him. _Who is he, _Alec wanted to correct Jace. But obviously knew he couldn't. What would that kind of information entail on the relationship he had with Jace? Jace who was quite possibly the straightest stick in the bunch, who would never ever understand the conflicting feelings Alec had just began to accept. And more so, how would Jace take the fact that Alec had once had those said feelings towards him?

Alec was always scared of something happening, where the truth would emerge, and his bond with Jace would be severed in half. He could see it, and quite readily couldn't see any other way around it. It was maddening, and drove Alec insane. Because although he never wanted to face the truth when regarding Jace, he couldn't help but feel guilty about the fact that he was completely and utterly denying his best friend—his brother, of his full undivided honesty. "It's no one specific really. I'm just nervous about everyone," Alec lied again.

"Ah don't sweat it. You did fine on the boat the other day. Just think of it like that, except with more people, I guess?" Jace slipped his arm around Alec's shoulder, and pulled him close to his side, in a very friendly brotherly gesture. Alec relished in the feeling of being close to Jace, physically and mentally—but now for a whole other reason. He felt as if this contact with Jace, was a silent form of Jace saying _'I accept you. I would never deny you. I love you.'—_and Alec just prayed to God, that when he was to reveal the truth, that those were the words that would slip from Jace's mouth, one day.

"Well then c'mon lets go," Alec sprung up from the bed, and headed over to his dresser, grabbing his black jacket which laid on top. "Don't want to waste any precious time, do we?" Alec laughed at how stupid he was sounding, and Jace laughed and shook his head as well.

"Oh, yenno we only have all night and all morning to have some fun." Jace grinned. "Go get Izzy, I'll get the car started." Jace stalked out of the room with his shoulders dipping low; his hands shoved into the front pockets of his light blue jeans. Alec retreated after him, but instead of turning to the left, down the hallway leading to the kitchen and front foyer, Alec ducked right, and walked to the end of the hallway where Isabelle's room was situated. He knocked twice loudly on her bedroom door, before he heard Isabelle shout 'come in!', and then turned the brass doorknob to her room, letting himself in.

Instantly he was hit by a wave of pungent fruity smells, and his eyes were met by a subtle darkness overlay. Her walls were a deep rich burgundy color, with random flecks of glitter and sparkle intermingled into the tone of the walls. Alec had seriously wondered how Isabelle was even able to coax Maryse into letting her do this to her room, when they first moved in at the beginning of summer. Clothes upon piles of clothes were stuffed into random nooks and corners of Isabelle's room, some hanging off of her furniture in haphazardly ways. As well, random pots of makeup and groups of shoes were scattered all over the hardwood floor. Isabelle was standing in front of her floor length mirror, off to the right side of the room, wearing a short, _extremely short, _black baby doll dress, and sheer black tights; along with a pair of deep scarlet red knee high, high-heeled boots.

Her hair cascaded down her back in long elegant waves, reminding Alec of the innocent girl she once was. "Iz, you aren't seriously going to wear that, right?" Alec asked, stopping just behind her, so he could see himself and Isabelle in the floor length mirror together. There, she was touching up her pale pink lip gloss. They had always looked strangely alike—both having inky black hair which naturally waved at the tips, angular arched eyebrows, thin pink lips, and the same smooth ivory skin tone. The basic differences between the two, was the fact Alec had his mothers livid bright blue eyes, his fathers height, and Isabelle had Robert's dark chocolate brown eyes, and was short—except for the times when she wore 6-inch heels.

"I sure as hell, am not changing." Isabelle lowered her head, and starred at Alec at the same time through the reflection of the mirror. It was a very menacing look that was passing over her pretty face. Alec sighed, he was not going to win tonight with anything. He was hopeless in fighting the issue with Jace about his nervousness, and now he knew he was completely and utterly not going to win with Isabelle. Why could she not see that all he was trying to do was protect her? Alec loved Isabelle with everything he had, and all he strained to do was to keep her out of harms way—ever since the accident.

"Fine. Just don't get yourself in trouble tonight, okay?" Alec scoffed, and turned to leave the room. But as he was about to take another step towards the door, Isabelle caught at his wrist, holding it firmly between her delicate feather-like ivory fingers.

"Wait. Alec, I'm sorry... I don't want us to fight anymore okay?" Isabelle said genuinely, her voice hushed and soothing—exactly the same tone of voice Maryse obtained in times of great struggle. Alec caught a glimpse of the small, still raised scar which crossed over the top inside of Isabelle's arm, as she held onto his wrist. Alec shuttered, only momentarily before regaining his composure.

"We weren't fighting Iz. Don't worry about it," Alec retracted his arm smoothly, not wanting to be harsh and make matters worse in Isabelle's mind.

"We haven't talked in a long time. I count that as being at odds a bit, wouldn't you say?" Isabelle wasn't meaning to be abrasive with her words, Alec could tell by the expression on her face, calm and somewhat dissapointed—but her tone came out choppy and a bit too sternly. She was upset, that was obvious enough; but the real concern, was for how long had she been thinking of this, 'at odds' thing?

"Iz, can we talk later? When we aren't headed out the door to a party?" Alec pursed his lips, and began to shift his weight back and forth on the balls of his feet. He really was excited, and anxious to be going to Sebastian's party, and didn't want to wait any longer. Mainly his excitement was directed towards hanging out with a lot more of the people from the Academy—finally establishing his place in some form of a hierarchy, with Jace and Isabelle by his side. And the rest of his excitement, and the bulk of his anxiousness, was directed to the mere fact Magnus was going to be there.

Truth be told, Alec had a restless night attempting to suppress the image of Magnus' cat eyes out of his mind—failing miserably. And now, he was blessed with the chance of seeing those familiar intoxicating eyes once again, in person, up close. Had it only been a day? When to Alec, it felt like weeks?

"Do you promise? Because there are some things I wanted to ask you..." Isabelle scrunched up her features in a very timorous kind of nature; she looked hesitant and doubtful of what she had just said, and or, of what she was meaning to potentially ask.

"Like wha—" The honking of the jeep wrangler outside cut Alec off mid-sentence.

"Later," Isabelle reached down to his hand, and pumped it twice—a subtle gesture of reassurance. Isabelle glanced at herself in the mirror, one last lingering time, and twirled her way out of the room. Alec rolled his eyes greatly, and grabbed a light army green jacket from the top of one of her pink shaded floor lamps, and followed the path of the house, which led him outside into the dark crisp night. The sky was impeccably black, with few to none clouds in the sky—and thousands of stars littering its surface. The air was a bit chilly, sweeping over Alec's still inflamed cheeks, nipping at the fragile flesh.

As Alec took his spot in the passenger seat beside Jace, he looked back at the house and thanked the lord Maryse and Robert had needed to go out of town until Tuesday, or else the Lightwood siblings would not have had the chance to go to Sebastian's. It was a bit daunting though, having to wonder what their sudden trip out of town might have been entailed for. But Alec didn't dwell on it for too long, as a sudden rush of apprehension swallowed him whole, as they began to drive down the road.

Within a couple of minutes they drove up to a large colonial styled estate, which was stark white in comparison to the appearance of Magnus' house. The shutters were a bright blue livid color, and all around the base of the house, were tiny budding red roses. The front driveway was laid out in the same fashion as Magnus' estate was: coming full circle around a spectacular cement caved fountain, with a willowy angel standing at its top. The whole entire driveway was full of cars, some extremely lavish, others very mainstream and regular.

There were a few people lazing about on the front lawn, and even through the thick glass of their jeep wrangler, Alec could hear the loud base of music flooding out of the open bright red front door. He could feel the vibration of music moving along the lines of the car in harsh waves. "Ready?" Jace asked, cutting of the ignition, unbuckling his seat belt.

"Let's tear this place apart," Isabelle whooped from the back seat, sliding flatly out of the car, and dashing as fast as her high heeled feet could take her across the lawn, over to a group of girls, dressed in a similar fashion to her. After a few seconds, Jace and Alec walked up to the front door, and walked over the large threshold into the house. From both the left and right side of the house, Alec's eyes were met by dark lowly lit spaces; but directly in front of them, was a basement door, laid in the middle of a large staircase—which reached down on both sides. The door was opened wide, and at the base of the stairs leading into the basement, Alec could see multiple purple and green lights, and music hummed loudly up the staircase.

"Ooo," James snaked his way up the stairs a second later, with Tessa grappling onto his elbow. "Who do we have here?" James slurred, stumbling a bit over his feet. Alec nearly laughed out loud, at seeing the bright flush of red splattered across James' cheeks, and the droop of his eyelids hanging low over his silver eyes.

"I'm sorry, he's a bit drunk," Tessa apologized, smiling widely to Jace and Alec, as she snaked her arm around James' waist, holding him upright. "It's right down there, try not to trip on your way down, the steps are a bit steep," Tessa added, leading Jem around the corner of the left side of the staircase, into a secluded area of the house. Alec and Jace began in the direction of the basement; the closer they got, the louder the base of the music drummed, and the brighter the flashing purple and green lights got. The archway at the end of the dark staircase opened up into a huge dark room, with strobe lights flashing across different walls, in different patterns simultaneously. There were black figures, moving and snaking around to the beat of the music—people, together, shifting in an intoxicating wave of movement.

They were all students Alec faintly recognized, from some of his classes, and many of them were swaying their hips against one another—grinding in the grittiest of ways; some kissing in the darkest corners of the room, and others talking and laughing over the noise. Alec was frozen, and didn't know what to do; he had been to a few parties before, but usually they were more subdued, and less euphoric and or erotic than this one deemed to be. "I'll be right back." Jace snaked his way through the crowd of people, over to a seating area, with bright red couches, where Clary sat with Camille and another girl with strawberry blonde hair.

Everyone around Alec was dressed in _barely there, _and tight clothing; causing Alec to feel completely out of place, with his dark washed jeans, green striped long sleeve, and cream colored Levi's. For a moment he was lost, drifting through the crowd; or more so dragged in by the crowd, to wind and bump to the beat. He felt intoxicated and drawn to the gritty sweaty dance crowd—the lights left colorful glows across the many porcelain faces of the crowds; sparkling ever so slightly off the many glittering eyes. Alec was alone—Isabelle and Jace no where in sight anymore—he almost sensed it internally, but that didn't stop him from socializing with those around him, taking a few swigs of random drinks of different colors. He knew he wouldn't get drunk, he didn't like to think what could consequently happen if he did. But still for an hour or so he had fun, just talking to newer people, and dancing to the music.

It was another world down there in Sebastian's basement, a gritty, dark world, where teenagers could unwind without the constant over powering protection of a parent. This underground basement party proved to be a haven in itself, a dirty one at that.

There was a sudden wave of minty cold breath on Alec's neck, pulling him from his intoxicating state of mind. "Are you having fun?" Magnus' husky voice tickled the hairs on Alec's exposed neck. Something about the proximity of Magnus' body to Alec's, and the thumping base, made Alec lean back into Magnus' body; never fully turning around to see his expression, but he could feel the tense lines of Magnus' chest as he did so. Alec slowly rocked his hips from side to side, swaying his feet in front of him—the crowd forcing both Magnus and Alec further together. After awhile, Magnus skimmed his hands down the curves of Alec's body, and rested them on either side of Alec's hips, pulling Alec against him forcefully. They began to move fluidly as one, and gradually everything started to slip away.

The sound left first, and then the people, and all Alec could sense was himself and Magnus. Nothing else seemed to matter in that moment. And Alec wasn't scared, surprisingly about the people around them—but maybe that was for the simple fact that no one would exactly be able to see them, with the darkness of the space, and the large crowd of people flooding around them.

But, what was Alec doing? And how come Magnus was willing to give into Alec's motions? Alec froze, and turned in the circle of Magnus' arms; and found himself once again inches away from Magnus' face. "I need air," Alec breathed shakily. Magnus' eyes were locked on his, and Alec couldn't tell if his eyes were dark as they were because of the darkness of the basement, or for some other hidden reason.

Magnus released his hands from Alec's sides and smirked, grabbing a hold of his palm—dispite the fact Magnus knew Alec's hands were probably clammy—and dragged him through the crowd, over to the archway which led to the staircase. Alec followed Magnus up the stairs in tow, and as they got closer to the front foyer, Alec could distinctly make out what Magnus was wearing: tight black waxy pants—most likely leather—which conformed to the frame of his legs and butt, as if it were painted on, and a bright purple v-necked sweater, which hid his arms well, but showed off his chest equally as good. The part of his arms which were visible were greatly adorned by glittery sparkly bracelets, and a pristine white watch. Magnus' clothes fit his frame almost _too _perfectly—and made Alec's heart skip and beat irregularly against his chest.

Once they got to the top of the steps, Magnus rather harshly dragged Alec over to the right, yanking his body sideways into one of the lowly lit rooms nestled off to the side. "Hey—" Alec began to protest, but within a flash of a second, hot lips were pressed against his, cutting him off. Alec was burning now, his emotions flaring up, his blood running like a heated frenzy throughout his body. For a moment Alec stood there, too shocked to give into the hot lips which were pressed against his, too shocked to respond or move. He felt light headed, just about ready to fall over, his knees going slack weak. Then Magnus stepped back from the brief kiss, and placed his hands on Alec's shoulders, steadying him.

Alec felt as if a piece of him was rudely being taken away, before he could savour it, just that much more, in that moment that Magnus' lips detached from his. He hadn't realized that his eyelids slipped shut, and as he slowly opened them, adjusting to his surroundings—the light of the moon, and a small table lamp, which was dimly lit in the corner, outlined ever curve and feature to Magnus' face and body. After what seemed like hours of hesitation, Magnus searching Alec's eyes with a anxious piercing look to his face; Alec took Magnus' face into his hands, cupping his jaw, gently as to not upset the bruises there. "I need a bit more," Alec said before he leaned in, and this time pressed his lips hotly to Magnus'.

Their lips collided with one another, in the most feverish of ways, moving together in a hungry frenzy, almost as if they were both grasping for that last breath of air—that only the other could supply. Magnus glided his hands around Alec, placing his palms on the small of Alec's back, and pulled him even closer to his body—so close that their hips were touching—being crushed together. Magnus tasted of salt, like fresh sea water, and sweet spearmint; his lips soft, but intense with every movement. Alec couldn't breath, as their bodies were forced together even further; Alec felt his ribs crying for air, but for the life of him, he never wanted their lips to part. Magnus left long, desired kisses, one after the other on his lips, causing Alec's body to shutter with sweet tremors of unadulterated heat.

Alec whimpered loudly, as Magnus bit down lightly on the sensitive skin of his bottom lip, pulling it tenderly with his teeth. Magnus took advantage of the situation, and slid his tongue expertly into Alec's mouth—clashing and fighting for dominance with Alec's tongue. Alec reached his arms around Magnus' neck, attempting to close the space between them even more, by pulling his face even closer—although there wasn't much space to begin with.

Alec could feel the rush of Magnus' heartbeat hammering against his ribs and chest, and Alec wondered if his heart had the same adrenaline paced rhythm. With every kiss, Alec tried to convey the message: _Don't ever let go. _His knees were weak with the onslaught of heat that crawled between the almost none existent cracks of their joined bodies. A moan erupted from the back of Alec's throat, and as he did so Magnus' fingers dug deeper into his back, knotting into the fabric of his long sleeved sweater. Magnus moved his left hand slowly, trailing it up and under Alec's sweater, outlining the supple curve of his back. Every strip of skin Magnus' fingers danced over, Alec felt another simmer and or tremor of fire being ignited to those spots. Heated moans and subtle groans passed between them—both Magnus and Alec seemed intent on swallowing each and every sound which bubbled up from the back of each others throats.

Alec was becoming lightheaded and dazed from the lack of air, their bodies rubbing against each others—in the most erotic sensational way—their tongues moving together, over the expanse of gums, and teeth—and he desperately needed to recollect air into his lungs. He began to retract from the deep kisses, and turned them into feverish pecks against Magnus' lips—smiling as brightly as he could. They finally parted, as the need for air became increasingly alarming. His cheeks were flush, and he couldn't find it in himself to move his arms that were wrapped tightly around Magnus' neck. Although they had stopped kissing, Alec never dared to let go of him—he was immensely drawn to the rhythmical rise of Magnus' chest against his, and the heat of his skin against his fingertips.

Magnus looked down at Alec with an equally beaming smile on his face, his yellow-green eyes filled with such happiness—which were now the color of pale sage leaves during blooming season, with flecks of gold splitting off in different directions. _Don't ever let go, Don't ever leave, _Alec wanted to say; but he was breathless, and instead placed his head against Magnus' chest, breathing in ever ounce of him. Relishing the feeling of having Magnus under his fingertips.

Oh, this was all so surreal, and Alec wished that he wasn't dreaming this—it would be the biggest disappointment to him, if he had been. Or did he wish that he was? So that he could go back to being slightly disconnected from Magnus in a way, without revealing how he truly felt about Magnus. This was different—Alec had never kissed another guy before, and by doing so, he just created a number of deep complications for himself. Complications he could have easily avoided, but his mind and body told him not to, in that heated moment. He needed time to think, time where he could muddle over all the thoughts and emotions running through his mind. But right now, was not the time. If he was going to crack down hard on himself tomorrow—he at least wanted to savour this blissful moment he had right now for a little bit longer.

"I still need to get some air," Alec gingerly said after a few moments of Magnus just holding him, and Alec holding Magnus. Magnus laughed loudly, but Alec caught a hint of restraint within the laugh.

"Mmm," Magnus purred, "that sounds good right about now, lovely."

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><p><strong>AN: :3 I just realized that it has been twenty one chapters, and they haven't even kissed yet (well until now). Holy shit, I'm terrible to you guys aren't i? So yeah, here it is! Their first kiss, and I really hope you guys liked it! Seriously, I would _love it_, if all of you reviewed, and told me what I could've done better, or what you liked about it! Get ready to be submerged into a world of Malec in the coming chapters, by the end of it all, you will be sick of it—I promise (; . And be prepared for some hard truths, hard pasts, and even more sibling bonding (I have to get more Jace and Isabelle in there, I feel as if I'm depriving them of their right to be in these). Also, be forewarned that William is a growing force in the background... muaha. So yeah, I really hope you guys liked it! I've been awfully scared to post this for a couple of days, because I didn't know if it lived up to its esteem or not. The next update may take a few days longer than usual, because I need to switch around a few things in my story line, add things, take out things, ect.**

_**Review, prettys! You don't understand how much this one will mean to me!**_

**Amber,**


	22. Here Comes the Sun

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY TWO**

_**Here comes the Sun  
><strong>  
>"Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter, Little darling, it feels like years since<br>it's been here. Here comes the sun Here comes the sun,  
>and I say, It's all right<em>_."_

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><p>Magnus woke up, and his eyes were instantly trained to a stark white rice flaked ceiling; the muscles in his back ached, and his lips were on fire—tingling and burning with a sensation so strong, Magnus had to bite down hard on his lower lip, to keep from screaming out. He felt almost too enlightened and happy, that it took him a moment to realize where his sudden rush of optimism and heat came from. He felt a slight weight on his left arm, and a subtle shift of movement—silky hair, brushing over his upper arm. He glanced over to his left, and attempted to suppress his smile, as he realized that this blue eyed boy was the exact reason for his dream-filled night. Magnus hadn't slept without at least one nightmare tainting his dreams in the longest time—but last night, all his dreams were sweet. Not even a hint of bitterness was laced into his sleep—Magnus had the kind of dreams, in which you never wanted to wake up, in fear that they would never be real. And as he gazed at the sleeping boy, he couldn't help but feel as if this was a once in a lifetime thing—having said dream come gleefully true.<p>

Alec was resting his head on Magnus' upper left arm, his charcoal black hair splaying out over Magnus' tan skin, tickling the fine hairs there. He was lightly snoring, his thin pink lips parting only a fraction of a crevice, spicy cinnamon wafting out. Magnus picked his head up slowly, as to not rouse Alec in his sleep, and took in his surroundings. The two of them were laying on the hardwood floor of Sebastian's fathers study, and bright seeping light swept into the room, through the parting of the long floor to ceiling red drapes on either side of the large bay window. There were others in the room, all sleeping as well, leaving virtually no room to step around—off in one corner, Magnus recognized the bright tangle of red curly hair—Clary—her head placed delicately on the top of Jace's chest, his hand snaked around her waist. In that position, it looked as if Jace's grip on Clary was a protective reflex, as if in his sleep he would do anything to keep Clary closely to him.

And close by, near the entrance of the study, James and Tessa were sprawled out on their stomachs; their hands clasped together like that of a childhood fairytale. It seemed almost too perfect seeing them like that—so innocent with their love and affection, even if everyone knew that they had already pushed past every boundary a two year relationship could entail—but still, they were two delicate souls that wistfully clinged to one another, obtaining that same amount of innocence as they once had at the beginning of their relationship. And really, to Magnus, it was the fact that they acted as if they were still in the beginning phases—which in turn kept them strong and pliant with eachother.

There was no doubt that there would be people sleeping all over Sebastian's manor, in random rooms, on top of random furniture, and just gazing out of the window at the in between dark and light blue sky, indicated to Magnus that it was still too early for any one of them to awaken, any time soon. So Magnus and Alec were safe at the moment, without prying eyes and speculations.

_Oh god, last night, _Magnus sighed and let his eyes slip—attempting to re-imagine the feeling of having Alec's lips finally pressed against his own; the feeling of Alec's relaxed muscles under the tips of his fingers—of his body pressed firmly against Magnus', fitting perfectly with the lines of his frame; as if Alec were the other half to making him whole again. And quite literally, when they were kissing, Magnus felt as if he couldn't be any more complete than in that moment. Alec's lips were so very soft, and tentative—brushing calmly than feverishly at the exact right times, sending Magnus spiralling into a deeper state of desire. Last night he felt as if he couldn't get close enough, and he wanted—_needed_ to lock himself tightly together with Alec.

Alec felt oh so good; Magnus was at a lose for words inside his own mind—trying to settle his emotions on exactly how it had felt. He didn't necessarily understand why he took the initiative of leading Alec into the study once they had escaped up the stairs, attacking his lips... But just seeing Alec there in his boyish green striped long sleeve sweater and dark jeans, his cheeks perfectly flushed and rosy from the heat of Sebastian's basement—not to mention the fact, that for a while there, downstairs, Alec was practically grinding against him, while everyone around them continued to dance as well—sent Magnus into a sort of frenzy. For the past few days, Alec was that which was unobtainable to Magnus—and in that fated moment when their lips connected, Magnus realized that, that was all he had yearned for, since God knows when. And now, he wanted even more.

So, in Magnus' mind, he _possibly_ took the initiative because of the fact that Alec practically begged him too, even if Alec did it indirectly and absent minded and because Magnus' own emotions were set on fire. But one thing was for sure, and that was the fact that Magnus _wanted _that to happen, ever since they departed from breakfast at Dante's the day before, and quite readily even before then. It was quite sickening really, Magnus had to admit, how he had somehow turned into that person who couldn't stand to be away from the person they felt all these swimming feelings for—and really, Magnus was not going to continue to subject himself to hide the truth.

He liked Alexander Gideon Lightwood, and that was something which would be painfully hard to deny.

Where did they go from here? That question had been lingering at the back of Magnus' mind before he had fallen asleep, with Alec tightly snugged up to his side. Complications... Big complications were about to arise from this, Magnus could indefinitely feel the wave of forewarning wafting and tangling throughout the air. What was he supposed to tell William? He had yet to talk to him as of late—and almost dreaded the moment he would succumb to. If this went further, what would they tell their friends? Their family members? Magnus could only hope for the best, hope certain daunting truths wouldn't be revealed—hope for a steady, future where Alec could be there to kiss him again. And again. And again.

He could most definitely get used to the image of Alec sleeping beside him. It was a marvellous way to wake up; he didn't even partially mind the slight added pressure Alec was causing to his left arm, making the tips of his fingers tingle and prick in response. As long as Alec was there, nothing seemed to matter. Alec began to stir in his sleep for a few minutes, before he finally came to, and opened his sleep ladled baby blues, catching Magnus' eyes instantly, locking his gaze—and smiled a warm genuine smile, revealing that perfect dimple in his left cheek. To Magnus' surprise, Alec leaned his face closer to him, a bit hesitantly at first but at the same time knowingly, and pressed his lips delicately to Magnus'.

Again, Magnus felt as if he were swimming in fresh lake water, diving head first over and over—feeling a rush of sensations and shivers hit every single nerve ending in his body. There was a frenzy of heated tremors, now, which danced along the planes of his back, engulfing him in this sort of bliss, that he had never felt before. The small kiss didn't last nearly as long as Magnus would have wanted it to, and Alec retracted back from him, with a boyish lopsided smirk on his face. "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure last night happened," Alec blushed a bright red fire truck hue.

Magnus raised his hand to the ivory skin just above Alec's eyebrow, and began to stroke it with the pad of his thumb. It was a weird gesture on his part, but somehow stroking Alec's skin there, set _him_ at ease. "It happened Alexander. It definitely happened..." Magnus whispered, starring intently into those vibrant lake blue eyes. They stayed there for only a minute longer, just gazing at each other—as if both trying to read eachothers mind—before Alec's eyes feverishly swept around the room, scoping out his surroundings, and pushed himself away from Magnus anxiously. And truth me told, Magnus understood—if someone were to wake up, and find Magnus and Alec in such a compromising position, it would only entail more difficulties for the both of them. Magnus could see now, that Alec was not at all comfortable with himself. And really, Magnus found himself to be more than comfortable with the situation—in the long run. That is, if it deemed to end up somewhere.

Alec stood up abruptly, almost tripping over someone else's arms, which were strewn haphazardly across the floor. He crossed the room, as silently as he possible could, dipping around bodies, scuttling past finger tips, to where Jace and Clary had been laying. The whole time, Magnus had his eyes trained on Alec's butt—he couldn't help it. Alec's jeans fit perfectly, outlining the subtle curve of his butt, and the muscles of his soccer thighs. Magnus swept to his feet as well, a moment later, but instead of hanging a right over to Alec, he took to where James and Tessa were sleeping in the doorway.

"Jem," Magnus bent down low to the ground to whisper in his ear. "Jem," Magnus whispered a bit more bluntly this time, nudging James in the side of the rib once.

"Mmm," James sighed, his voice muffled from sleep. "What?" He picked his head up slightly, and rested his chin on the hardwood beneath him. His eyelids drooped low over his liquid silver eyes, making him look much more groggy than he had been for months.

"We've got to go," Magnus said, outstretching his arm in front of himself, to regard the time on his stark white pristine Micheal Kors watch. "Don't want to be late for classes do we?"

"What do you care about being on time for classes Magnus?" James smiled, and unclasped his hand from Tessa's to roll over onto his back. Magnus saw from the corner of his almond shaped eyes that Jace and Clary were now standing with Alec, whipping the last bits of sleep from their eyes, fixing their appearances briefly. "Help me up," James lifted his left hand into the air, and with the other clasped it tightly over his mouth, attempting to stifle back his laughter. Why he was laughing... Magnus had no idea, but found it insanely adorable, and smiled down at him, taking his hand and helped him to his feet.

"Magnus, I have an insane headache right now..." James said into the palm of his hand, tiny giggles erupting from the back of his throat.

"It's called a hangover Jem," Magnus chuckled lowly, helping James to his feet.

"I know that. I'm not stupid, you know." James grinned, and whipped the palms of his feather-like hands into the beds of his eyes. "Drive me home? I wouldn't dare get behind the wheel with Tessa in my state right now,"

"Where's William?" Magnus asked, as he went to crouch down on the ground again, and rouse Tessa from her sleep. Her long brown hair was splayed out all across the floor and her shoulders, tangled, and her face hidden beneath it.

"I—I don't know. I think he left last night. I can remember him coming to me, and being upset about something, saying he was leaving early, I think... Don't take my word for it. I can barely remember last night." James shrugged, and scooped up Tessa into his arms, when she resisted Magnus' attempts of waking her up. Clary, Jace and Alec were advancing towards them, from his right, swiftly then; Magnus reached into the back pocket of his tight black leather pants, and revealed the keys to his car.

"Go put her in the back seat, I'll be out in just a second," Magnus smiled, as he caught Alec's eyes when they came to stand beside them. James took the keys gladly, and carried Tessa out into the hall, and through the front door. "Alexander, can you help me for a moment? I've seemed to have lost my jacket," Magnus ostentatiously said, smirking at Alec, quirking his eyebrow high on his tawny forehead. He watched a sweet sort of tremor crawl through Alec, creating an electric shiver to take over his body.

"Uhh yeah, sure. Jace I'll be fast." Alec ducked his head down a fraction, proceeding to hide a subtle rosy flush on his cheeks.

"Sure thing," Jace said, almost suspiciously, as if he were searching his mind for something that wasn't exactly there—something that might not have been tangible. Magnus let it slip his mind however, it was never a good thing to over analyze a situation and or response. It could only lead to disastrous things. Jace grabbed a hold of Clary's doll sized hand, and tugged her away from the room, and out the front door as well; leaving Magnus and Alec alone—well partially alone.

Magnus grinned widely, and stared Alec down, before he tilted his head in a sultry fashion, indicating for Alec to follow his lead. Magnus winded his way throughout the many hallways of Sebastian's house, and once he found a hallway which was starkly empty, he grabbed a hold of Alec, and pushed him a bit too forcefully into the wall behind him. In an irrational instant Magnus latched his lips onto Alec's sucking Alec's bottom lip into his mouth, loving the low groan that escaped the back of Alec's throat.

Magnus gripped Alec's hips, digging his fingers into the fabric of his dark washed jeans, as a sort of involuntary response to the sounds Alec was making against his lips. Oh yes, Magnus could _absolutely _and most definitely get used to this. Magnus traced his tongue deliberately along the pink flesh of Alec's bottom lip, silently asking for entrance—which Alec willingly gave over to. Alec whimpered as Magnus stroked his tongue along the roof of his mouth, his hands finding their way to Magnus' hips, and pulling him forward, closer to his body. There was a car honk from somewhere outside, and he instantly recognized it as his own car—the significant beep was in its own way a huge signature sound to the make of his car. Magnus smiled into the kiss—even if he was resenting that it had to be over—and pulled back his head, meeting the gaze of livid melting blue eyes. "I'll see you later today. I've got to go,"

"Magnus?" Alec sheepishly said his name, with a hint of question lacing his voice, his cheeks flushing a beet red color.

"Yes, lovely?" Magnus tilted his head to the side, and studied Alec's face intently. The way his dark angular eyebrows knit together in a sort of ginger nervousness; the subtle dip of his upper lips cupid bow, and how the corners of his lips pulled up into a smile; the firm but delicate bones along his cheeks, highlighting the perfect natural rose color on the apples of his cheeks. Everything about him was so beautiful—and really the eyes were the best part. Bluer than a bright summers day ocean, with just the right tinge of sea foam blue crashing against its surface.

"Thank you—for last night." Alec's voice was hesitant, as if he were unaware if what he was saying was to be regarded as something rather embarrassing, but he went ahead with it anyways. Magnus smiled, a toothless smile, but more so to himself, looking down at his feet. He wouldn't have imagined for Alec to say thank you, for something as simple as a kiss. But really, for quite possibly the both of them, that kiss was far more than it could ever be regarded for. But still it was a type of heart warming gesture to be given a form of thanks for that.

"You're very welcome, lovely." Magnus lifted his head, and quickly snuck in one last lingering chaste kiss, before stealing away down the hallway in a hurry, and out the front door to his car where James and Tessa awaited him. At this rate of having to drop Tessa off at her estate, and taking James home—possibly, or most probably, Magnus having to take partial care of him—Magnus would not make it to school in time to savour the first half of the day with Alec present. But he liked it better that way, because really the only thing he was even remotely looking forward to, was Biology where he could be with Alec, without the curious eyes of any one of their friends.

Oh yes, Magnus was determined to make this a good day.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Malec(y) goodness, and it's only just the beginning! I just _really_ wanted to start writing them interacting in _this _way. Alec is the sweet kisser, looking for the simple adorable gestures he can get—while Magnus is the one who is the desireful kisser (at least in my mind), and likes to be a bit rough with Alec—in which Alec sure as hell does not mind. I wanted you guys to see, that all that built up frustration between them, the days leading up to the party, just absolutley took over them, and that is why their first kiss was so _hungry _and _needy. _I hope you guys don't think that the plot somewhat ends here, because seriously... There is _a lot _more to come, and to me it's all about the build up and the little transitional chapters to help lead to those points. I want this story to be long, and I hope you guys stick around for the whole thing (: ! As a side note, there will be more Jace and Alec time, Isabelle and Alec time. Definitely more Magnus and Jem, Magnus and William; it just depends on the points when I want to bring those points up. Side relationships are important to me as well, because hey, who says I wont create another story after this one, as a follow up to one of those relationships? Stay hopeful that I have the will power to continue writing!**

**I can't thank you all enough for reviewing, I just... When I first started this I didn't think it would be liked all that much, and I didn't think anyone would be still interested in reading this for how long I drag certain things out. So thank you again for those who have stuck through this, you guys are truly amazing.**

**Don't hesitate to review! I love getting feedback, and if you have questions, ask away! Like honestly, _any questions at all_, like what's Isabelle's favorite color in this story, or anything bigger or smaller than that, I will be happy to answer!**

**Amber,**

_Sorry, I had to add this at the bottom: So, I just finished the book Forbidden, by Tabitha Suzuma, and I am utterly broken, like I can't stop crying, and I feel so angsty at the moment. It took such a long time trying to edit this, because tears just kept fogging up my vision. I hate it when books do that to me... And honestly it doesn't happen often! But this book is just so amazing, but terribly devastating at the same time. On that note... I have been writing a whole bunch of angsty scenes for Castles Made of Sand, only because I feel extremley motivated and inspired by Forbidden. I would recommend you read it! But it is really a book meant for people that are mature enough to handle some of the complicated positions people can have in society.  
>Okay, I'm done my little rant... please review! And hopefully i'll stop crying so I can get more of these chapters written.<em>


	23. Little Child

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY THREE**

_**Little Child  
><strong>  
>"If you want someone, to make you feel so fine, then we'll have some fun<br>When you're mine, all mine. So come, come on, come on  
>Little child, little child, little child. Won't you<br>dance with me?"_

* * *

><p>Alec was in an absolute daze. Everything around him had this sort of new shine to it, that before the events of last night, and that morning—Alec would have never seen. Could one person honestly be this happy and elated about a kiss, without feeling as if they were about to combust? He liked Magnus' lips against his, the feeling of his smooth tawny finger tips digging into his hip bones, the beautiful taste of Magnus' tongue fondling with his own. Alec was still at a loss for words about the fact that he had kissed a guy—Magnus—and that he liked it, a lot more than he should of. But possibly, that was his mind and bodies way of telling him exactly who he was; a sort of way of revealing the inner truth of Alec—that he was gay. However, at the same time, the idea readily freaked Alec out; he didn't know how Jace and Isabelle would react, let alone how his parents would take it. And if he were to be honest, he didn't want to know.<p>

Before Alec had left Sebastian's house to go to the Jeep, which Jace and Clary were waiting in; Alec took to stalking the wide and narrow halls, faintly remembering through his muddled mind, that he did have a sister who was nowhere to be seen, as of yet. Luckily after a few minutes of searching through half cracked bedroom doors, and different living areas, he had found Isabelle, slumped over on a small dark indigo coach, her arms latched around the body of another girl with even less clothing than Isabelle had on. Alec breathed a sigh of relief, for having found Isabelle with another friend of hers which was a girl, instead of a guy. Instead of William.

He scooped her up into his arms easily, her head lolling back over his left forearm, and her mouth falling open to emit small sighs and snores. She looked so innocent in that moment: Her beautiful wavy tresses of hair, falling across her shoulder and down her back in beautiful regal waves; her face wiped clean of all the concealer and thick black eyeliner, showing off just how naturally gorgeous she could be. That was one thing he undoubtedly disliked, when regarding Isabelle—not that he actually disliked his sister in that context—Alec had always admired Isabelle, in a sisterly way, as quite possibly the beautifulest girl he had ever seen, without the makeup, next to the natural non-forced look of their mother, Maryse, as well. He could remember when Isabelle had submerged herself into changing the way she looked, and hating it, because now, sometimes when he looked upon his sister, he could barely recognize the girl that was once—and still was for the most part—his best friend.

Once he had found his way back to the front of the house, and out into the sun lit, cool crisp day, Jace had already pulled up the Jeep to the front steps of the house, with Clary sitting in the passenger seat. In a small almost insignificant part at the back of Alec's mind, he felt a bit cheated by Jace—as if Clary was somehow replacing his mark in Jace's life. But he couldn't think like that, those thoughts would only lead to bruised feelings, and confusing notions. Clary could give Jace everything he wanted really; everything Alec could not, given the person Jace was.

Alec placed Isabelle into the back seat carefully, attempting with all his strength not to disturb her in her sleep. Once you woke Isabelle up, without her consent, you were in for a tremendous amount of word lashings and menacing stares. So, ever so slightly, he slid her into the back seat feet first cradling her head in his hands. He slipped into the seat next to her, and placed her head in his lap. "Where to?" Jace yawned, and pulled out of the driveway of Sebastian's estate. His golden hair was mused all around his head, and his tight black shirt wrinkled across his chest and back.

"School?" Clary enquired, and looked back over her seat at Alec, pinning for his consent on what to do as well. He liked that about Clary, how she took everyone into account rather than just Jace—even if the first time they had met each other, she had seemed like an absolute wanton girl, who feel under the spell of that which was Jace Lightwood—something had changed within the both of them, Jace and Clary, since that day. Alec was certain he would be seeing quite a substantial bit of those fiery crimson locks around the house for the next while.

"How about home? Sound good to you Alec?" Jace asked, shoulder checking onto the paved road; his voice still laced with sleep and drowsiness.

"Sure, I don't really have to be at school until the afternoon anyways," Alec muttered, staring out of the window, watching the passing evergreen and pine trees pass in an insurmountable blur of green and brown. He was really beginning to appreciate the scenery of Alicante, so fresh, vibrant and full of deep but at the same time bright colors.

"Why's that Alec?" Jace asked haughtily from the front seat, his tone much more accusing than it should have been. Alec narrowed his eyes in question, pinching his features together, attempting, somewhat desperately, to find out what Jace had meant by asking him that. There was something hidden there, something Alec couldn't quite see and or decipher. Usually it was easier for Alec to detect the intentions hidden within Jace's actions and words, but at the moment Alec's mind was staggeringly focused on the idea of Magnus, that he couldn't quite focus on any other thing.

"No reason, I just... Wanted to go home and rest a bit, then go to school. Sleeping on the floor wasn't the best situation." Alec lied, because really, he would sleep on that floor forever more, if it meant waking up to blazing yellow-green cat-like eyes, and met by a sweet kiss afterwards. Actually if Alec was to be quite frank, he wished those lush lips were pressed against his right in this moment—it was such an amazing feeling having Magnus there to share in those heated touches. Alec raised his fingers to his mouth, wishing he could have that burning feeling of Magnus' lips on his own, right in that moment.

"Why don't we just stay in all day?" Clary suggested, slumping back farther into her seat, kicking her petite feet up onto the dashboard of the Jeep.

"Didn't you say that the point of these parties on weekdays, were for us all to just get up and catch rides together in the morning for _school?_" Alec leaned forward in his seat, placing his head between the two front spaces to smirk at Clary. He made sure not to lean too forward, as to crush Isabelle's head however.

"I do recall saying something like that... But desperate times call for desperate measures, and I don't think any of us are up for going to school today." Clary shrugged her shoulders up. "Besides you..." Clary cocked her head to the side, and regarded him with watchful emerald eyes.

"I'm just not hung over, I guess." Alec shrugged and returned his back to the plush leather seat. Truth be told, he had, had at the maximum three drinks. He couldn't and honestly wouldn't have let himself get drunk. It just wasn't his type of thing, and besides he hated the way drinks flowed down the back of his throat, burning its way down, as it went. Sure, when a drink finally hit his stomach it created this warm buzz to drift throughout his veins, but the after affects of it all was never a good thing.

"C'mon Alec, stay at home and hang out with us today." Jace cooed from the front seat, and despite Alec's potential protests, Jace was headed in the exact direction of their estate on the east hilltops. Jace reached back over his seat for Alec's face, swiping his fingers playfully over his cheek. Alec swatted his hand away—How was Alec supposed to convey to Jace the message that he _wanted _to go to school in the afternoon, so he could see Magnus again? So he could potentially slip away down another abandoned hall, and have Magnus' body pressed against his once again? But how was he to do that, without upsetting a balance between himself and the people in the car? Alec didn't dare go near the close death defying consequences that conversation would arouse.

"Okay, fine. I won't go." Alec tried to suppress the scowl that was now plastered to his face, but had a hard time doing so. He snaked his arms over his chest, and sat there silently swearing in his mind, in defiance. But then again, it wouldn't be all that bad—Alec could always see Magnus later on... At night... Where they would have more time to themselves, rather than sneaking subtle glances towards each other in Biology class. And besides, Isabelle had asked Alec last night if they could talk, and when she woke up, that would be the perfect point in time to do so. He missed it desperately actually; if he dug down deep inside himself. Talking to Isabelle, about anything there was to talk about was a small desire of his—even if they couldn't discuss _everything._

Once they had made it back to the house, Alec had carried Isabelle out of the car and throughout the house; about to lay her down on her bed, but thought otherwise, seeing the state at which her room was in. He took her instead to his bedroom, and laid her gracefully in the middle of the bed, and instantly she curled up into his sheets, stretching her feeble limbs across the expanse of his bed. Jace and Clary had situated themselves in the kitchen, making some sort of a breakfast, for them all; the sweet rustle of trees, birds outside and the voices of them in the kitchen made Alec feel serenely relaxed. He usually only let Maryse cook for him—other than restrauants—but really, as long as it wasn't Isabelle doing the cooking in the house, he would oblige to whatever was laid out in front of him.

In the time between waiting for breakfast to be ready, Alec pulled out a dark grey plain shirt, and black jeans from his dresser drawers, as well as a change of black boxer-briefs, and stole away to the bathroom across the hall, to have a quick scorching hot shower. While in the shower, scrubbing around his body with the Sandal wood body wash Isabelle had bought for him; the image of Magnus' lean body eclipsed across his mind. The way his black waxy jeans had hugged him in all the right places, how his purple v-neck sweater showed off just the right amount of skin across his chest...

Alec became enticed by the images, and before he got too caught up within his mind, his hands travelling even further and further south... Alec turned the dial on the shower nozzle to a freezing cold temperature, instantly dimming the heat which hummed within him. He quickly jumped out of the shower, dressed just as hastily as he had jumped out, and towel dried his hair. After he was done, he returned to his bedroom, and found Isabelle propped in the middle of his bed, sitting campfire style. Her black baby doll dress billowed out around her in a circle on the bed, and her hair was a roused mess of ink falling around her shoulders.

She resembled some type of dark fairy princess, with her big dark eyes starring Alec down as he crossed the room over to his hamper, where he dropped the towel in. "What?" Alec asked, crossing his arms over his chest cautiously.

"I saw you," Isabelle replied faintly, lowering her eyes to her hands, which were resting upon the fabric of her dress. There she began to fiddle with her fingers, a habit Alec was used to seeing when Isabelle was nervous, anxious—unsure about things.

"Uhh, yeah. You can see me right now too, can't you?" Alec mocked, and walked over to the edge of his bed, laying down on his back beside her. She looked down at him, with tentative eyes, which roamed over the expanse of his face—making him feel less at ease than he was mere moments ago. There was something about her gaze, which spoke unidentifiable words to him.

"No, Alec... I saw you... Last night." Isabelle quirked her perfectly shaped left eyebrow on her ivory flawless forehead. Alec squared his expression at her, the full extent of what she was trying to convey both within her statement and expression, didn't hit him full force at first. But as he laid there in wonder, searching the farthest depths of her deep brown eyes, he saw something he wished he hadn't seen. Alec sat bolt right up, a wave of vertigo hit him right between the eyes at the sharpness of his ascent.

"Iz, you saw... You saw me and..." Alec couldn't quite finish the sentence. His whole body was seized with fear and worry. His own throat threatened to close up on him. He felt all the blood drain from his face, and no doubt he had went sheet white at this point.

"Magnus. I saw you and Magnus, ki—"

"Iz, it's not what it looked like," Alec stood up, and placed his arms out in front of himself. Attempting to create some type of physical barrier between himself and what was to come. Isabelle got off of his bed as well, and stalked over to him, standing on the tips of her toes like the ballet dancer she was—moving across the hardwood floor, delicately.

"Alec, I know what I saw." Isabelle took a few more hesitant steps towards him; almost as if she were sneaking up on a fragile bewildered baby deer, trying desperately not to scare it off. Alec felt his lungs contract—he wasn't breathing. There was no way he could do anything else but think about her revelation—her findings. How could he be so stupid as to kiss Magnus at a party? Where it was obvious enough that someone was going to happen upon them in that lowly lit room... "Alec breathe," Isabelle placed her hands on his shoulders; and instantly by the slightest touch of her hands, he felt only a fraction calmer. He let out a deep gust of air, sinking his shoulders down low—loosening his tightened muscles expenentiary.

"Then—Then what... Do you think of it...?" Alec bit his lip nervously. This day was not supposed to turn out like this. His own sister happening upon something he would have gladly loved to hide from those around him for a very long time. She just stood there and tilted her head a fraction to the right, pursing her lush lips tightly together. "Oh god, Iz," Alec raised his hands to his face, hiding his eyes away from her. "I'm sorry... I'm so sor—"

"Why are you sorry?" Isabelle enquired, pulling at his wrists so she could see his face. He was relentless though, and kept his hands in place, speaking into the palms of his hands; his voice muffled.

"I just, I know you probably don't accept me anymore. And I'm sorry, I just..." Alec was at a lose for words. Really he had no idea what to say to her. If it had been different circumstances in which he could bring this up himself with her, further in the future, he might have been fine—knowing exactly what it was he wanted to say. But right there, in the moment and position he was placed in, nothing seemed to come out right. His mind was scattered all over the place. Who else had seen him and Magnus making out?

"Don't accept you? Alec, you're my brother. Of course I accept you! I love you! I'm just worried that you don't quite accept yourself." Isabelle said in all honestly; her voice seeping with a genuine undercut. Oh, she would never understand how her words lifted his heart in that moment. Alec released his face from his hands, and leaned down to snake his arms around her waist and pull her to his body. Alec was measurably taller than Isabelle, and as he did so he lifted her off the ground.

"Oh thank god." Alec sighed, his breath moving fluidly throughout her hair. Isabelle clasped her hands hard behind Alec's back. "I don't think I accept myself yet either. I mean, I guess I've always known—but I'm not ready to accept it fully Iz." Alec whispered sweetly into her ear, his chest rising to the waves of her own, as if they were connected internally.

"You don't have to be ready right now. I just want to know that you will be okay. And that you aren't rushing into anything." Isabelle sounded deeply concerned, and Alec was thankful for that. It felt as if some sort of huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. Someone knew—besides Magnus—Alec now had another person to talk to, and Alec couldn't be any more happier that it was his sister.

"I don't think I'm rushing into anything... I don't even know what Magnus and I are. We just... _kissed._" Alec set her back down on her feet, and smiled at her warmly, as she returned the gesture as well.

"But you felt something didn't you?" Isabelle was giddy now. She loved anything to do with relationships, and could talk about them for hours on end—not that he and Magnus were in a relationship or anything. Isabelle was always fascinated whenever Alec became submerged into a new relationship, only for the mere fact that it didn't happen all that often. It was hard for Alec to find that one person who changed everything for him, and possibly the reason as to why it had been hard before was because he was always looking in all the wrong places.

"I guess I did," Alec smirked to himself, and looked down to the floor, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of this situation.

"Just know that I'm here okay?" Isabelle gazed at Alec pointedly, and he shook his head up then down in silent agreement. "Now, c'mon. I'm hungry as a dog. I can smell the bacon from here." Isabelle turned on point and began to flee his room. Alec followed in tow, and before they entered through the kitchen archway, he bent down to whisper in her ear,

"Don't tell anyone else about this Iz, I swear if you do..."

"I promise." She whispered back, and crossed the room to Clary who was neatly laying out dishes over the expanse of the breakfast nook tabletop. They all sat down and enjoyed Clary's egg, toast, and bacon sandwiches—talking and laughing about certain events that had happened at the party. Alec disregard most, if not all, of the information, his mind was so concentrated and distracted by the thought of Magnus holding him last night—and in turn, focused on imaging what could come about later in the day.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Dun, dun, dun. I wonder who else saw them? Alec needed Isabelle to know. He needs someone who can be there for him, when things get rough or too hard to handle. And Isabelle was the best choice for that, obviously! It will get hard, that is something almost inevitable—and Alec is beginning to realize that; having to dart around his reasons for doing certain things. So no class for Alec today, he will be staying home with his siblings and Clary, unless he can get _someone _to sneak him out. And really, that is a good thing for him—he needs time in between moments of being around Magnus, or quite honestly he could just die of the overwhelming tremors and shivers which wrack his body constantly. Patience is a virtue needed, until they meet again! The next chapter may take a couple of extra days. I've been writing like a psyco lately (I'm writing a book of some sort!) and I desperately need a break. Forgive me!**

**Here's a little snippet for you guys!**

_"How are you supposed to let go of something that continues to haunt you everyday?"_

**Review pretty please? And another snippet _might _be coming your way!**

**Amber,**


	24. I'll Follow the Sun

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR**

_**I'll Follow the Sun  
><strong>  
>"For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun. Some day you'll know I was the one But tomorrow may rain,<br>so I'll follow the sun. And now the time has come, And so my love I must go.  
>And though I lose a friend, In the end you will know<em>_."_

* * *

><p>"I'll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Carstairs. Make sure to have those ginger snaps ready for me," Magnus called, as he retreated back towards his car, which was parked on the far right side of the slate driveway. Mrs. Carstairs stood there on the threshold of their estate, her short black hair tucked just below her chin, and her warm welcoming smile, spreading vastly over her delicate face. She gave Magnus a subtle wave, as he returned the gesture as well, and within a few moments, she had made her way back into the house, where James was now safely asleep; working off his eminent hangover. It was amazing to believe that Mrs. Carstairs was okay with her son arriving home absolutely hung over—lord knows what Gerald would do in Magnus' case—but then again, the Carstairs family were among the nicest, most understanding people he had ever met in Alicante.<p>

Magnus turned back to the direction of his car, and nearly jumped out of his skin when his eyes were met by the dark image of William leaning coolly against the side of the gleaming red car door, with his arms cris-crossed over his ample chest. "Magnus," William greeted with a smile, and shrugged himself off and away from Magnus' car. He still had on his deep blue button down, and dark black ashy faded jeans—Magnus had arrived with William that night at the party, and for quite some time they spent the whole night by each others side. It wasn't until Magnus spotted Alec in the crowd of people; magnetically pulling Magnus towards him, that Magnus had lost tabs on where Willam was.

"So, I heard _someone _got upset by something, and left early last night," Magnus grinned and quirked his left eyebrow high on his forehead, rearing around to the drivers side of his car, listening for the silent click of his door opening. Without a shred of hesitation, William opened the door on his side swiftly, and sat down—Magnus following his actions in tow.

"Who told you that?" William turned to regard Magnus with cool unnerving eyes, once they were both seated in the car. Magnus stuck his keys in the ignition, and revved the engine, knowing that the probable place they would end up was school by now—it was nearly afternoon, and really Magnus was willing to break tons of speed limits passing through town, if it meant getting that much closer to seeing Alec. Even if he rather the circumstances being different—having Alec all alone—it was still an opportunity Magnus would not miss.

"Jem, darling." Magnus answered and waved his hand in front of his face, and then proceeded to turn out of the driveway onto the paved road. "Don't avoid my findings. Do tell William,"

"It was nothing. I just wasn't feeling in the mood to be there any longer. Nothing made me upset—" William's tone of voice was muddled and strangely closed off—as if he were slightly ashamed of what was brought up, or as if he were attempting to work his way around something. And that rarely ever happened; Magnus had known William for quite some time and had become accustomed to the ways William presented himself, the ways he spoke, acted, everything. William was not himself lately, it was almost as if something was plaguing his mind, tearing away at the delicate seams which held it together. And Magnus was definitely aware that he _was _delicate; forever the boy who would put the worries of others ahead of his own, so he could protect himself from the truths of his own life. Magnus needed to talk to James, because other than Magnus himself, James would be able to interpret what was wrong—since given the circumstances at hand, Magnus had no clue whatsoever. "Tell me. How was your night Magnus?" William asked a bit more merrily than was needed.

"Apart from spending most of my time with you—extraordinary." Magnus grinned; flashes of lake blue eyes scuttled and danced across his vision and mind.

"The Lightwood kid was there. I saw you go over to him when we were in the basement," William said haughtily, fiddling with the dials of Magnus' car, changing the heat. "How'd that go?" William wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, smirking a wicked playful grin. He had definitely watched them dancing, that much was clear by his indirect statement—but had he seen them flee the basement, and kiss upstairs? Or was that still a private moment between Magnus and Alec? Magnus hoped for the former, because quite readily he was distraught about the idea of still going along with William's plan, and didn't want William seeing them kiss add to the already blazing fire. But he doubted anyone had seen them.

For the most part, Magnus would not have been able to detect in himself, anything that deemed to be forced in regards to being with Alec. From time to time, he would completely forget about the deal that he had made with William—Alec was just that good at causing Magnus to escape his mind, and the troubles within his life for the moment. "Good, I guess." Magnus didn't want to have this conversation. Not now, when Magnus was already having an amazingly optimistic day.

"You aren't telling me something, I can see it on your face," William suggested, in a low husky tone.

"Listen Will, if something happens between us you would be the first to know," Magnus replied a bit abrasively and otherwise forcefully.

"Then how come you are hiding the fact that something _has _happened?" William sounded a bit hurt, which cut Magnus like a sharp bladed knife. He didn't want to lie to William—his best friend. But what choice did he have? Magnus wanted to insure that his relationship?—Could he call it that?—with Alec, was a private matter, one which could be locked away and embraced by _only_ Magnus and Alec. But then again, what did that say about Magnus and William's friendship, in which they had built upon trust and truth years ago? However, that trust that they had built didn't include not being able to bend certain things to fit their own means, so long as they weren't called out upright on an issue. But William... He was certain Magnus was hiding something from him; being subdued about the subject, trailing his way around the actual truth, and what could that entail on their friendship? Was Magnus willing to lose William at this point?

"We kissed." Magnus shot out; without any sign of restraint holding him back. No he couldn't—wouldn't lose William's friendship. Through the many hardships and trials of Magnus' life, William had been there—to listen, to console, to give advice. And the least Magnus could do, for the years of undeniable friendship, was to give William the truth. He owed it to him—even if Magnus didn't want to think of their friendship as some sort of bargaining tool. But really, Magnus would never forgive himself if he let their relationship slip through the cracks over something he could have potentially avoided, by being truthful. Magnus watched from the corner of his almond shaped eyes, William's mouth drop slack open, his sharp eyebrows rising high and pinched upon his forehead; a flash of emotions trailing across his features.

"Wow, Magnus. You've definitely subjected yourself to move fast." William shook his ashy black hair, wafting a wave of sea water scents to Magnus' nose. "And he was pliant? He kissed you back?" William sounded eager, a bit too eager for Magnus' likings. But then there was something else there underneath the thick layer of formality... His voice was laced with—knowing? Scorn? Longing? Magnus couldn't be sure. All he knew was that, William was good at bending his way around revealing his emotions and his intentions. Magnus had always known that, that was William's way of protecting himself and yet Magnus didn't agree with it. At some point, and there was no telling when, all of those hidden bottled up emotions would pour out of William in a heated frenzy.

"Y—yes, he kissed me back. But nevertheless, I don't think this idea of yours is any good. Now if you tell me what the point of this was—"

"No." William interrupted loudly. "Magnus, just trust me—keep going. Trust me please?" Magnus turned his head to regard William, who was boring his eyes straight through Magnus. His eyes were deep and dark; before, the very same eyes Magnus wanted to slowly seep into and be swept up by—but he hadn't had thoughts like that in awhile. William's features were hard, structured and relentless in giving absolutely anything away. But strangely at the same time, gazing into William's eyes, Magnus watched a slight fracture take place within William. A vulnerable point, being hit dead on the nail, cracking—for a reason, Magnus didn't know.

Magnus sighed, and swung his head back to the road ahead of him. Avoiding William's gaze. "Of course Will, I trust you." He sighed again.

"Good." William smiled, and turned to gaze out of the passenger seat window. "I was thinking that we could head over to Sage's bar today instead of the Academy, grab a few early morning drinks and—" William was cut off by the subtle low ringing of Magnus' iPhone.

"Hold that thought," Magnus raised his hand to William and pulled over to the cement curb. They were now passing through the updated part of Alicante's downtown, where piles upon piles of people crept along the sidewalks, and fluttered in and out of the many flashy lavish stores and bistros. Magnus shoved his hand into the front right pocket of his leather pants and pulled out his white iPhone which continued to beep relentlessly. "Hello?"

"_Hey—uhh Clary just gave me your number. Well actually she gave Iz your number, and I got it from her." _How could his voice do that? How was it able to send sparks along the hairs of Magnus' arms and sweet shivers down his spine, over the phone?

"Mmm, Alexa—" Magnus caught himself, realizing for a fleeting moment that William was still in the car beside him. "Why'd you call, lovely?" Magnus attempted to drop his voice lower, knowing that William undoubtedly could still hear him, but otherwise hoping that William took that as his signal not to listen in.

_"I can't get out of the house—well, not unless you can pick me up? I mean it's fine if you can't and all. But, uhh, yeah." _Alec sounded even remotely flustered over the phone. Enduring, yes. Painfully adorable, yes. Would Magnus get tired off it? Never.

"I'll swing right on over. Spare me the address?"

_"632 Cunningham way. Call me when you get here. I—I kind of have to sneak out."_

"Sure thing, lovely. See you in a few." Magnus smiled and clicked his phone off.

"So, I take it we aren't going to venture off to Sage's today?" William lowered his dark eyebrows and pinched them together. He sounded _more_ than disappointed, but after a moment of hesitation he released the tension in his features and smirked lopsidedly. "I guess you have much more important things to attend to. Just drop me off at Sage's. I won't keep you any longer Magnus." William shrugged half-heartily, his face closing off to any other indifference. Within a few minutes William was dropped off at their favourite infamous bar, and now Magnus was on his way to 632 Cunningham way. He deliberately needed to memorize that address to heart, because he had a sort of gut feeling that he would be seeing a lot of that house—and quite possibly that was wishful thinking, but he couldn't be too sure.

He was slowly coming up the drive of Alec's estate, a rush of excitement waved throughout his body. No, he was not going to take Alec to school—he wouldn't be able to handle not being able to show some type of affection towards Alec. He would sit there painfully in Biology class waiting desperately until the bell rang so he could pull Alec into a janitors closet of some sort, and ravish him there. Then again, that did sound rather intriguing to Magnus... But no, today they would go somewhere else for a while, somewhere they were least likely to be interrupted at.

He pulled into a long wide half crescent shaped driveway, and made sure to deliberately park closer to the road, off to the side where there were a ton of pine and evergreen trees shadowing the view of his car from the house. The estate was just as large as any of the other houses on the hilltops, except this one had a more home styled air to it—very inviting, and more so characteristic of a marvellous white lodge house with trees upon trees surrounding it. Magnus pulled out his phone, and dialled back Alec's number that had come up on his screen earlier when he was in the car with William. Alec picked up on the second ring, and quickly spit out his reply of _'i'll be there in a second'_, and hung up. Magnus sat in his car for a couple of minutes, letting the fresh smells of the woods waver throughout his car through the cracked windows. The breeze had a subtle crisp edge to it, calming and evening out the pure blissful heat of the sun's brilliant rays, which were bright and livid.

His eyes instantly focused and trained on a dark blur of a figure darting across the lawn towards his car—Alec; wearing dark black jeans, which matched the charcoal color of his hair, and a dark grey t-shirt paired with his ever so familiar pair of cream colored Levi's. Magnus shook his head to himself, seeing as he had yet to even go home and touch up his image, while this god of a person who had taken the time to ready himself, was going to spend his day with Magnus. Alec made it to the car in no time at all, and Magnus took it upon himself to get the car ready for departure. "Go. They'll realize I'm gone in no time," Alec said breathlessly as he slid into the seat beside Magnus. His cheeks were flushed a rosy pink tone, his hair roused and dishevelled in the back—sweeping to one side—and light swatches of sweat dotted the arch of his nose.

"What's with all the sneaking around?" Magnus laughed and shook his head, making a full hasty U-turn out onto the road.

"It's Jace. He doesn't understand why I would want to go to school, he wanted me to stay home today." Alec's breath was a bit laboured, his chest rising a bit unevenly, but he seemed to be calming himself well for the moment.

"And you didn't want to tell him that your only reason was me?" Magnus smirked devilishly and winked at Alec, loving the blush on Alec's face as the result. "Don't worry, I get it lovely, you don't want to tell anyone about... Us." Could he already partially label them as 'us'? It was quite too soon for that, but really Magnus wasn't partial to waiting for things he knew would be his eventually. Did that make him a bit pretentious? Or overly hopeful? One thing was for sure, and that was the fact that Alec hadn't even flinched when Magnus drawled out 'us'; he seemed unfazed by it.

"Iz knows," Alec turned his head away, biting the skin of his lower lip. He needed to stop doing that—it was utterly distracting for Magnus, to say the least.

"You told her?" Magnus quirked a questioning eyebrow high on his forehead, as he continued to drive further and further away from Alec's estate.

"No! I—I didn't exactly tell her. She saw us last night—kissing." His blush deemed to get darker and hotter.

"Oh well that's a relief," Magnus said as they entered the old part of downtown Alicante; heading in the direction of the boat docks.

"How is that a relief?" Alec nearly shouted, his mouth left a gape.

"One less person to sneak around, lovely." Magnus suggested.

"Oh, well, yeah I guess that's a good thing." Alec agreed, and turned back to gazing out of the tinted window of the passenger seat. They fell into a comfortable silence shortly after, each keeping to themselves and their thoughts—although it was quite maddening, having to wonder what was going through Alec's mind. Magnus' mind was concentrated on getting to the boat docks so they could sneak onto old man Penhallow's boat and spend the day there. Together. Alone. Only the lot of them knew that Penhallow never bothered to show up on Monday's. "Yenno, I've never..." Alec's voice was timid and low, cutting through the brief silence. "I've never—done _this _before." He sheepishly finished. Magnus pulled into the grey cemented parking lot of the boat docks, which was over-looking the deep blue sun flecked ocean that stretched for miles.

"Hmm? And what would _this _be?" Magnus unbuckled his seat belt and turned to Alec, catching the slight hesitant glint in the back of his lake blue eyes. Magnus tilted his own head in question at the look that plagued Alec's face—making his features a bit sharper and harder than they usually were—accentuating the dimple in his left cheek greatly.

"Don't make me say it Magnus..." Alec sighed, and offered him a half-hearted smile that didn't naturally reach his eyes.

"No Alexander, I want to know what you mean." Magnus raised his eyebrows pointedly, as Alec sighed and fiddle with the hem of his dark grey shirt a bit, while gnawing on his bottom lip.

"I've never... Kissed a—a guy before. Let alone continued something with said person." Alec's face flushed once again. Really Magnus would never get sick of seeing that bright crimson—sometimes deep scarlet red—color. It suited Alec oh so well, and just the mere fact that Magnus could elicit such a reaction made his stomach do unsettling flips and turns. A feeling he had never experienced before he had met Alec.

"Oh," was all that slipped out of Magnus' mouth.

"Oh? That's all... _Oh?_" Alec gazed at Magnus incredulously; the corners of his lips pulling up a bit, into a ghost of a smile.

"_Oh—_I haven't done this before either. Been with a guy that is, so I guess we are in _this_ together Alexander." Magnus leaned over the small storage console which rested in between them, pressing his hand onto Alec's upper left thigh, and with the other hand he grasped Alec's face in between his finger tips and drew Alec's face closer to his own, pressing their lips together. He could hear the hitch in Alec's throat as they connected, and could taste the spicy cinnamon on his soft thin lips. Magnus let the kiss linger and deepen, but didn't take it any further than the press of their lips against one another. He pulled back slowly, and opened his eyes just as slowly watching Alec do the same.

"Yeah, I think I like the sound of that," Alec said with a smile and tilted his eyes towards the tiny red dotting boat on the water. "That's where we are going?"

"—And where we are staying for the remainder of the day."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh gosh, I am so sorry you guys! Four days is way too long of a wait. To be honest, I had terrible writers block, and I've been horribly sick for the past couple of days. So for this chapter: I guess I wanted you guys to see a bit more into William and Magnus' friendship—it is a weird friendship, I know. It is actually the one friendship I am still trying to figure out! You see, they are two different people as well, but somehow they work, and rely on each other in the faintest and biggest of ways. Also you guys will be happy to know that the next chapter is souly dedicated to Malec! And I just wanted to address something as well; I got a message from someone the other day asking if I could put smut and lemons in soon—all in time prettys! Malec is a relationship that deserves _not _to be rushed. But fear not, it will happen at some point... Again, the next update may take a bit of extra time, sorry! Also a little while back someone asked me if I give shout-outs, and yeah for sure! As long as you review, I would be glad to!**

**Take a little bit of time out of your day and click that '_Review this chapter' _button. You know you want to (;**

**Amber,**


	25. Sure to Fall in love with you

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE**

_**Sure to Fall (in love with you)  
><strong>  
>"You are so sweet, And so near, I'm sure to fall in love with you, So hold me tight Let tonight be the night,<br>Darling, don't ever let me go, Loving you, Is the natural thing to do,  
>I want you for the rest of my life."<em>

* * *

><p>The inside of the boat was as familiar to Magnus as his own bedroom was. And quite literally the mere size of the dotting boats space was a few square feet smaller than the size of his bedroom at home. The floor boards were a cracked weathered light colored wood with a small make-shift red rug situated at the foot of the front doors landing. At the far left side of the boat, there was another much smaller exit—a sort of trap door which led around to the edge of the boat docks. The cream colored walls were regretfully bare, with few to none photographs hung up in place; the only one was a painting of the ocean during sunrise, done by old man Penhallow himself. Otherwise all around, from every angle, there were small port key windows which were cracked open, bathing the room in a fresh sea water smell and flooding sunlight into the room of the boat.<p>

Along the far right side of the boat, in a semi-crescent moon shape, was a long, dark indigo, plush sofa with a fairly large dark oak wood table in the middle. That was were they all usually hung around, when the lot of them snuck onto old man Penhallow's boat and had their drinking parties. Sometimes it was much more satisfying to them to all lay out on the floor boards, and laugh about complete nonsense as they did so in their intoxicated states—but it was rather likely of them all to use the sofa, mainly for comfort reasons.

But... Nevertheless, Alec and Magnus had subjected themselves to sitting upon the floor, leaning their backs against the wall of the boat. They had been like that all morning, just talking, not even making a move to touch each other or kiss each other—despite the fact that, that was what Magnus desired to do—and essentially learnt different little tid-bits about the other. There was teasing and laughing involved of course; Magnus loved Alec's laugh, it sounded as if Alec continued to hiccup and suck in way to much air at random intervals and or points. There were also a few rather tense moments, where certain topics became a bit too hard to answer; but really neither of them could help it. And neither one of them pushed the other into an explanation as to why.

Magnus learnt that Alec lost all feeling in his pinkie and ring finger on his right hand after some sort of _accident _that he didn't want to go in to details about; he learnt that Alec was a surfer who loved the water like a little kid loved ice cream; he learnt that the small almost none noticeable scar on the top left side of Alec's forehead was from his childhood when he and Isabelle had gotten into a heated argument and Isabelle had pushed Alec forcefully into the railing of their deck. He learnt that Alec had an uncanny fear of spiders, and a natural love for scenery. He also learnt that Alec had vintage 1967 Goya Rangemaster guitar, and after much difficulty Magnus coaxed Alec into the idea of giving him a private performance some time soon.

There were also things Magnus shared with Alec. Every question he deemed to ask was simple and easy to answer: his favorite place to get away being the lake they were at days prior, his heritage on how his father is Indonesian and his mother dutch, his favorite poets and playwrights, what movies he loved to watch—for future reference most likely—what ice cream flavour he enjoyed, why he seemed to like glitter so much... It wasn't until Alec had asked Magnus directly about his mother, Palmer, that Magnus got a bit uncomfortable, and somehow without even saying a word Alec had noticed the tense lines of Magnus' body and changed the subject quickly. Which Magnus was thankful for. As time continued to inch closer and closer to evening, the sun sinking low on the horizon, Magnus and Alec were still in the same position that they aquired when they first arrived.

"Hmm, when was your first kiss, lovely?" Magnus wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, as Alec shook his head.

"Er, I think I was like ten, and it was with this girl named Molly. I was horrified when she kissed me though, and then after that she went around telling everyone I was her boyfriend—which was even worse," Alec laughed, his insanely characteristic hiccuping laugh. "What about you?"

"I was fourteen," Magnus shrugged. "And surprisingly that was also when I lost my virginity or whatever," Magnus waved his hand in front of himself for a moment, as if it were no big deal.

"You...You lost your virginity when you were fourteen?" Alec gazed at Magnus astonished, squaring his eyes in wonder. Magnus couldn't help but grin brightly at the look that stretched across Alec's face; so innocent and bewildered.

"_Alexander_, in a town like this, where there aren't enough lesiure activites to do, you tend to lose it at a very young age. Do you honestly think any of us are virgins? Even sweet Jem lost his a long time ago,"

"I just... just... _Fourteen._" Alec breathed out in a long sigh. "That's so young. I—I can't imagine you were prepared for that at all..." Alec trailed off.

"I didn't love her, if that is what you're eluding to. At that point, I didn't really connect sex with... Love." Magnus added in a whisper, "I still don't know if I do." Alec glanced up at Magnus then, his eyes and expression faltering a slight fraction of a second, before he gave Magnus a small understanding and faithful nod. Silence encased them after that, but it was comfortable and charming, a place Magnus could stay forever and feel an abundance of happiness drift around him. He didn't know how Alec could make him feel so at ease with himself; it was as if the mere presence of Alec wiped away the worries Magnus had of the world—all the stress was gone for a moment, and for that moment Magnus was able to ease away the sorrow that had been slowly filling his heart as the days inched closer and closer to the marked day of Palmer's passing.

"Tell me what you like about me." Magnus said after a few minutes, catching Alec a bit off guard. His ears picked up to the sound of Magnus' voice, and he turned his head to face Magnus with his eyebrows pinched low on his forehead.

"Uhh, I don't know if I want to..."

"Why not?" Magnus whined.

"Because, I'll probably embarrass myself." Alec retorted.

"C'mon Alexander. _Tell me. _Tell me what you like about me," Magnus tilted his head to the left, and gave Alec a threatening grin. Alec returned the gesture with a simple sigh, dipping his head down so that a few strands of charcoal hair swept across his ivory forehead. He sat beside Magnus against the wall of Penhallow's deck, their shoulders brushing faintly together; and his long muscled legs stretched out over the floor with his shoes kicked off. Alec's hands were in his lap, his fingers over-lapping the other in a slightly nervous mannerism. The sun was just beginning to skid across the horizon—as in the September time, it tended to get darker earlier on—and now Magnus and Alec were bathed in a glowing orange light, that seeped through the half cracked port key windows of the tiny red boat.

"I like how you're so sure of yourself," Alec looked up and smiled; his eyes a blazing blue hue underneath his thick dark eyelashes. "You walk with this sort of affinity to yourself. I wish I could be more like that," he shrugged and returned his gaze to his lap again. And then he was silent—the only sound emitting throughout the room was the steady calm of the tide, and distant seagulls flying overhead.

"Is that _all?_" Magnus teased, nudging Alec in the ribs with his elbow.

"_No,_" Alec answered briskly. "I was just—thinking."

"And what exactly were you thinking about?" Magnus enquired, shifting his upper body a little bit further to the left, so he could face Alec more so. He wished Alec would raise his head, so that he was blessed with the vision of those livid lake blue eyes once again. It was a strange desire that burned deep within him—almost as strange as the desire he felt to run his fingers all over Alec; memorizing ever dip and curve of his lengthy muscled body, and finding the sweet spots that could make Alec shiver.

"I was thinking about how I like your smirk, the way it curls up in the left corner." Alec said lowly, laughing briefly to himself. Magnus couldn't help but involuntarily—at that moment—give Alec a small smirk. Magnus inched, only a fraction, closer to Alec; feeling the heat of Alec's skin wave off of him. "I like your eyes. The color alone makes me want to just stare at you all day," Alec looked up then, and locked eyes with Magnus, smiling adorably with a light pink flush hitting his cheeks. "And the way they dilate, turning almost black. Did you know they do that?" Magnus shook his head from side to side slowly; too focused on studying Alec's face to reply. Right then it seemed like a perfectly intimate moment between the two of them. Alec speaking in low husky tones searching Magnus' eyes, while Magnus did the same.

"I—I like the things you wear, because compared to me—you're kind of... The color in my life." Alec's blush turned just a hint darker. "Sorry, that was a bit cheesy," He turned his head away sharply to regard the other side of the small boat in embarrassment; but instantly once he did so, Magnus placed his palm against Alec's cheek and turned his face back towards him again.

"I like cheesy, once in awhile." Magnus remarked in a low voice.

"Well that's good to know," Alec laughed shakily. He then turned his face into the palm of Magnus' hand, his lips brushing over the cold smooth skin. He let out a gust of warm cinnamon filled air that tangled around Magnus' fingers—sending a sort of jolt and or fever throughout his nerves; heating his blood. "Have I told you, I like your hands?" Alec smiled against Magnus' hand and kissed it gently—his voice a breathless whisper. Magnus let his eyes slip shut for a moment, basking in the beautiful glory of that which was Alexander Lightwood. How could one person make Magnus feel this way? As if all the light of his world had suddenly eclipsed over top of Alec, so that everything else dropped out of place. All he saw was Alec. All he felt was Alec. And quite readily he couldn't get enough.

"I especially like it when your hands are here," Alec latched his fingers around Magnus wrist, and brought Magnus' hand down to rest upon the subtle curve of Alec's hip bone. Magnus' eyes shot open at that. Yellow-green meeting lake blue. Alec was being... Quite subliminal at the moment, but really—Magnus wasn't complaining. Magnus made a hasty decision and placed his other hand on the other side of Alec's hips; then sat up a bit from his position so he could swing his right leg over Alec. He was now straddling Alec's upper legs, both of his thighs locked not _too _tightly around Alec but not loosely either, while his hands rested on either side of his hips.  
>Magnus bore his eyes into Alec, finding a mixture of determination and hesitation swirling around in the depths of those baby blues. "And I <em>love <em>your lips." Alec gave Magnus a fox grin; uncharacteristic as to what Magnus was used to—but nevertheless endearing and wonderful. He then bit the skin of his bottom lip teasingly, causing Magnus to dig the tips of his fingers into the fabric of Alec's shirt which rested over his hips.

"Is that so?" Magnus grinned lopsidedly and leaned in once, just barely brushing his lips against Alec's, before pulling back.

"_Yes_." Alec semi-whined; probably because of the fact he was just deprived of Magnus lips. Magnus slipped his hands up Alec's body, slowly and deliberately, loving the effect he was having on Alec. He could feel Alec trembling slightly under his touch, his cheeks were blazing with color now, and small dots of sweat lined the arch of his nose. The blaze of the setting sun cast an ethereal light over top of Alec; his light ivory skin, blemish free and glowing; his eyes bright blue and livid; his hair a dishevelled array of charcoal black—with small tints of deep indigo in the light. He was truly beautiful, without even trying.

Magnus finished his ascent with his hands and trailed them around Alec's neck, locking his hands together at the back, while gripping a few waved and curled strands of his hair at the nape of his neck. This time when he brushed his lips against Alec's he meant to stay there forever, if he could. Alec's lips were warm and soft—and they began to move against one another in a slow even pattern, tilting from left to right and then left again. Alec slipped his hands around Magnus' back, pulling him forward so that now their chests were pressed together. Everything was slow and sweet; and there was no doubt Magnus could have continued this kiss forever possibly—but he yearned for more, _needed _so much more with Alec.

He bit down a bit too roughly on Alec's lower lip, and listened to a loud whimper escape through Alec's lips. A sound which spurred Magnus on even further. He slid his tongue across Alec's lower lip, asking for silent entrance—in which Alec complied with the softest of sighs—and then their tongues were colliding, sweeping fluidly together, shifting over gums, and running over teeth. Heat was moving between their bodies in the most delicious of ways, causing Magnus to let a hot moan bubble up in the back of his throat—and if that heat wasn't enough, Magnus was sure that the fact Alec had now suddenly slipped his hands under and up Magnus shirt was the thing to send him over the edge.

Everywhere Alec touched, it was as if he were branding Magnus' skin with a heated iron. And then, to make matters that much more desireful, Alec lifted his hips up once from the floor boards, their cores rubbing momentarily against one another. "_Alexander,_" Magnus murmured against Alec's lips. He was teasing the skin underneath Magnus' shirt, dancing his fingers across the small of his back, and then pain stakingly slow he ran his hand along the groove of Magnus' spine...Tugging his purple sweater up with it. Magnus pulled his head back and gazed into Alec's eyes—searching—wondering—speculating. And somehow he had begun to think he would find some form of hesitation lacing Alec's expression...But it just wasn't there.

Magnus attacked Alec's lips and moved his hands to the hem of Alec's shirt pulling it up and over his head—almost without loosing any contact of their kissing. His upper body was amazing; muscles coiled over his chest and abdomen, and his skin was smooth and creamy. His black hair was dishevelled around his head from the hasty lift of his shirt, and his cheeks flushed with warmth—glowing bright red. It was getting heated now, and essentially Magnus wasn't thinking coherently. If he was to listen to his mind that was screaming '_Too fast! Too fast!' _that wouldn't be happening right then, but every other one of Magnus' senses pushed him forward to continue on—and Alec didn't seem to mind. Alec tugged on Magnus' sweater as well, and swiftly discarded of it also, throwing it behind Magnus, on to the light wood floor boards of the boat.

Now their chest were pressed firmly together, skin on blazing hot skin. Magnus began to move his lips over to Alec's burning hot cheek, while threading his fingers throughout Alec's lush hair, peppering kisses all the way down his jaw, down his neck...To where he stopped at the spot where his ivory neck met the top of his shoulder. He nipped at the sensitive skin a bit too harshly, sucking slightly and sliding his tongue back and forth; the skin purpled in those spots moments later. Alec ran his hands up and down Magnus' back; memorizing every subtle ridge and spot—while the sweetest sounds continued to escape his lips. Involuntarily, Magnus grounded himself down onto Alec, absolutely loving the contact and the friction of their lower bodies rubbing together; and with the added sensation of their bare skin touching, Magnus started to become lightheaded.

"Magnus," Alec moaned, digging his fingers into the flesh of Magnus back. Magnus only continued to pull harder on Alec's hair, and suck more feverishly on his collarbone. "_Magnus_," he said a bit more forcefully, attempting to relay some type of message to him, but Magnus was having none of that—and paid no attention to anything else but what he was doing. He felt Alec's hands leave his back, and come around to rest on his chest, pushing lightly "Magnus _stop._" His tone was a pleading one, and that got Magnus attention.

"What?" Magnus gazed up into Alec's eyes, which were flickering with a substantial amount of desire and lust.

"Listen. Do you hear that?" Alec tilted his head toward one of the open port key windows of the boat.

And sure enough after a few moments of Magnus regaining some form of consciousness, he heard the low murmuring of voices not too far away from the boat. What made matters a bit more... Interesting at the present moment and circumstance, was that Magnus clearly recognized that voice, matching it faintly with the one of old man Penhallow.

"_Shit_," Magnus hissed, and hastily got off of Alec's legs, stretching across the small space to obtain his sweater. Alec did the same in a rush of movements, and they both collected their shoes from a corner in the room, slipping into them haphazardly. "Lovely, we're going to have to sneak around the back." Magnus held out his hand, and pulled Alec with him to the small stark white back door which led out into the now in between dark and light blue sky evening—cold air whipped relentlessly around them. Magnus could see old man Penhallow coming up the boat docks, leaving a friend behind at a neighbooring boat, his birch wood cane trailing across the grooves and separations of the dock. Old man Penhallow—despite his age—spotted Magnus and Alec peaking out from behind the back of a thin stationing wall beside the boat; squinting his spectacle rimmed eyes in their direction.

"Oh, hullo there Mr. Bane." Old man Penhallow bellowed in his deep baritone voice.

"Hello, Mr. Penhallow. Beautiful night isn't it?"

"Of course...Of course. Who's this one with you? You weren't in my boat 'ouse were you's?" He stuck his cane out, and gestured towards Alec—who was as red as a fire truck, and biting his lower lip like crazy, that it seemed as if he were almost about to break through the fragile skin.

"Uhh," Magnus raised his eyebrow questioningly at Alec, trying to catch his eye, but Alec was being relentless in the matter. "This is Alexander Lightwood. His family just moved to Alicante at the beginning of summer. And no, we were just... Wandering around the boat docks, enjoying the view." Magnus swept his hand up in the air, gesturing with a flick of his wrist around them.

"Okay... Okay. Nice to meet you. I best be getting to my boat. Long day... Long day. Do say hi to Gerald for me, will you Magnus?" Old man Penhallow smiled a toothy grin, and Magnus nodded. He retreated into the boat, and shut the door with a loud bang behind him. After a few seconds, Magnus turned to Alec and caught the flash of relief that flooded over him.

"What's wrong?" Magnus cocked his head to the side.

"I—What if... What if he caught us?" Alec shouted, placed his face in his hands, and shook his head.

"Just be glad we _didn't _get caught... This time. Relax Alexander," Alec breathed out a large sigh.

"Mmm, I—I know. Just give me a moment to control the blush." His voice was muffled by the palms of his hands.

"Why?" Magnus tugged on Alec's wrists. "I like the blush," Magnus laughed briefly and kissed Alec sweetly on the cheek.

"Whatever," Alec rolled his eyes and muttered, while having a hard time suppressing the smile that scuttled its way across his face. Magnus lifted his hand to Alec's forehead then and ran the pad of his thumb over the strip of skin above Alec's eyebrow slowly; a comforting gesture for the both of them really.

"I should get you home, lovely."

"That sounds like a good idea," Alec agreed. They turned towards the direction of the grey slate covered parking lot, where Magnus' car was parked near the boat docks. Halfway down the walk to the car, Magnus grabbed a hold of Alec's hand, and intertwined their fingers—tawny and ivory skin mixing together. Alec looked down at their hands a bit hesitantly, but then when he raised his eyes to meet Magnus' gaze he eased up and let out a wave of air that he seemed to have been holding in. His grip became more reassuring and tighter as they neared the car, and Magnus smiled to himself.

Oh yes, this could work. This was _going _to work.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **This chapter makes me happy (: and I hope it makes you guys happy too! Don't you just love confident Alec? He has his moments! But yes, he still stutters on his words, and is a completely bashful person... But when it comes to something that he wants... Well, I guess you can see what happens. They're both just so encased by one another, that yes this may be what the second time that they make-out, and shirts are coming off? They can't control themselves quite readily, and I hope you guys have recognized that. Also, just because Alec was willing to hold Magnus' hand for a moment there, doesn't mean he is willing to do it in public really... Another thing about Lemons, don't fret they will come into play soon! But not too soon okay? You guys want this to be long right? Also, the next couple of chapters are going to get extremely hard for Magnus... If you kept some type of indication in the back of your mind as to the timing of things, the Bane Banquet should've have been at the end of _this _week, and as Gerald had said, he uses it to commemorate Palmer's death as well as for business purposes. (But this year the banquet was pushed back two months—you'll find out why later). So it will get a bit depressing as a heads up! The next update will again take me a couple of days!****

**Review pretties! & choose options A or B for a little snippet next time (:**

**Amber,**


	26. Authors Note!

_**[ AUTHORS NOTE ]**_

_Hey everyone! So, i've just decided to address all of you over this, rather than individually emailing all of you. I am terribly sorry that I have not updated in a long time! I don't want any of you to think I have somehow given up, or feel like there is no need to write this story... Because I will not give up on this story! It will be rightfully brought to its end (at some point or another). I just wanted you guys to know, that yes life is getting a bit... Taxing at the moment and I've been way too distracted on writing, and in turn falling behind on my updates. I am so sorry! I'm trying to maintain everything in my life at the moment, but I seriously think I have A.D.D, and I cannot keep focus on one thing for too long. Usually, when I am editing these chapters, I will also be reading a book, while scrolling through my tumblr, while watching something on the food network (very unproductive and a terrible habit of mine). So yeah, all in all in regards to Castles Made of Sand, the next update should be coming either tomorrow or Sunday (sorry for my uncertainty). And since I feel terrible about not updating in the last couple of days, I will make sure that the next update after that one will come, at the latest, two days later. I hope none of you have lost faith in me! These things take time, and I really want to make this story the best I can make it (:_

_As a side note: Those of you who visit my profile, might have noticed that under my 'Upcoming Projects' I have put a new one in action called 'Pillars of Sand', which will be a Jace and Clary fanfiction, quite possibly as long as Castles Made of Sand (with Malec in it of course!). I have planned the initial layout for that story, and yes I have been working on writing it a bit, which makes me sound bad because I should be focused on Castles Made of Sand... Er, sorry again. But yeah, I just wanted to mention that to you guys, and see what you thought! I don't know why, but I like the idea of having 'Sand' in the title of my longer works of fiction (I'm weird, I know). ALSO, I plan on drawing some sort of a map of what I imagine the town of Alicante to look like; and I'll post it sometime soon._

_So for now, while you wait, I will give you guys a rather tasty snippet:_

_"Upon inspection Magnus couldn't hold out any longer—understanding the need Alec had for him; and likewise the need Magnus had for Alec. He lifted his shirt over his head and quickly rid himself of his jeans for good measure. It wouldn't have been all that fair if poor Alec was left there naked, while Magnus was still fully clothed. He wasted no time on Alec's black boxers, hooking his thumbs under the tight elastic rim—rubbing the pads of his fingers over the sensitive skin next to Alec's hip bones, and then practically ripping the offending material of clothing from his body. Magnus purred with delight, as his eyes travelled across every single inch of Alec's naked body. Drinking him in."_

Amber,


	27. Young Blood

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY SIX**

_**Young Blood  
><strong>  
>"I took one look and I was captured, I tried to walk but I was lame, I tried to talk but I just stuttered<br>What's your name? What's your name? What's your name?  
>What's your name?<em>_"_

* * *

><p>"How nice of you to ditch the house, and <em>not<em> tell us where you were going." Jace remarked instantly as Alec slipped through the front door into their foyer. He was attempting to sneak into the house silently to escape the clutches of his siblings, but alas he was cursed with an oppresing case of bad luck, ever since he was young. Jace's tone was laced with a slight twinge of disappointment but more so it was condescending—accusing. He stood in front of Alec with a hard scowl stretched over his mouth; his hands clenched at his sides momentarily, before he relaxed them. "Mom called quite a few times by the way—I told her you were out for a run though." Jace added hastily, "So you're welcome." He gave Alec a sadistic curl of his lip. So that's why he was mad; over something so trivial as him having to cover up for Alec.

"Thanks... Uhm, I was just out—with a friend," Alec began to scratch the back of his neck in an anxious manner, gazing down at his feet while he shuffled in his step.

"Is that a hickey?" Jace raised his hand and pointed at a patch of skin along Alec's neck, that he had left on display absently, not even considering that after Magnus' go of his neck, that there was a possibility of a hickey left behind.

"WHAT?" Alec shouted and darted over to the old golden antique mirror hung up on the far right wall of the foyer and further inspected his skin. There was a definite small purpling bruise right between the area where his neck and shoulder met. Just looking at the mark—that Magnus undoubtedly made—caused Alec to blush feverishly as shivers crawled up his back.

"Who gave you _that?" _Jace touched his fingers briefly to the patch of skin, before Alec jerked away in response. "Is that where you were? Out with some girl, disrupting her virtue Alec?" Jace teased, rustling the top of Alec's head, swaying his hair around, in a sort of proud gesture. Alec swatted at his hand, and playfully shoved him in the chest to create a sort of barrier or distance between them. Of course Jace would be more than proud that Alec had come home with a hickey on his neck; knowing that his brother, who for a lack of better words was fairly prude, had actually gotten a bit of action.

"I—I... Okay," Alec sighed. "I was kissing someone." Alec added quickly before Jace could respond, "and no, I will not tell you their name."

"You're no fun," Jace pouted and slinked his arms over his chest. He was clad in a fresh black button down shirt, which was cuffed at the sleeves and rolled up to his elbows, paired with pressed blue jeans. Definitely not an outfit made for someone who was to stay in all night—rather for someone who was expecting to go out.

"What's with the outfit? And where's Iz?" Alec enquired cocking his left eyebrow high on his forehead in question.

"Oh yeah—I was just about to mention that... Clary wanted us to come over tonight, just to hang out. I assumed you would be back at some point, so I told her we would both be there. And Iz is out with that asshole." Jace semi-hissed the last part, mock rolling his eyes.

"William?"

"Absolutely."

"And you let her walk out of that door... Why?" Alec narrowed his eyes at Jace, who was now rocking back and forth on the balls of his toes. Jace shrugged his shoulders up and pursed his lush lips.

"What was I supposed to do? She would have snuck out anyways—like _you,_" Jace added with a haughty smirk pulling at his lips. "Sometimes I feel as if _I _am the level grounded sibling in this family. The lot of you take to lying and sneaking out now of days. Must be something about this town." Jace once again shrugged, and began to walk towards the archway that led into the hallway attached the bedroom section of the house. Alec fallowed hastily after him, taking long strides down the wide hall in the direction of Jace's bedroom, which was located in the middle of Alec's and Isabelle's.

"Hey that's not fair. I'm always trying to look out for you guys and be the level headed one," Alec protested, as Jace swung the door open to his room, and Alec immediately went for his high perfectly made bed, and slumped down on his back, as Jace began to rummage through his closet.

"You've been doing an awfully shitty job." Jace suggested.

"Jace... You know I do try my hardest. I'm sorry I've been sneaking around. I—I've been trying so damn hard to protect Iz, and be there for you ever since—ever since," Alec's throat closed up, rendering him unable to speak. His head began to spin, and the world tilted out a slight focus. The memories... The _horrible _memories were something Alec would never get over, and he had accepted that a long time ago. But that didn't help the fact, that it would still overwhelm him, send him into a dark abyss of regretful thoughts and a depression he couldn't explain.

"Alec—" Jace paused what he was doing inside of his closet, and turned his head to the side, to gaze at Alec who was laid out over his bed. "I didn't mean it like that." His eyebrows were lowly knit together on his forehead; undoubtedly Jace was trying to think of a way to redirect the mood of their conversation else where. Usually the Lightwood siblings would attempt to skirt around the delegations of the past, not wanting to bring up a rather touchy subject between themselves. It was better in some sense, but in a different way it was also extremely taxing—all of them had these built up emotions, threatening to pour over, that they dared not to speak of to one another—and that was never a good thing.

"I know," Alec sat up, and trailed his fingers throughout his hair slowly. "Sorry, it's just... I don't know. Can I tell you something, without you asking a reason as to why?" Alec raised his head to regard Jace, who had slipped out of his black button down shirt, throwing it haphazardly across the room. Alec quickly adverted his eyes when they fell on the sight of his defined golden chest and abdomen.

"Of course, sweet cheeks." Jace offered Alec a sly grin, and then proceeded to slip on a dark green button down in place of the black one. Alec rolled his eyes, shrugging himself off of the bed to stand against the wall adjacent to Jace's closet. He snaked his arms over top of his chest, and leaned back against the wall, so that the tops of his shoulder blades were held against it.

"I feel... Happy. Well, I mean, happier than I have been in awhile. But for some reason, it makes me feel selfish—as if I shouldn't be happy, after what... Yenno, happened." Alec shrugged, and bit the inside of his cheek hard. He didn't necessarily want to show Jace the weakness that was inside of him—the weakness that had slowly been ripping away at his already fragile being for the past few years.

"You should feel happy Alec. Honestly, you do so much—"

"I thought you just said, not to long ago, that I've been doing a shitty job at not doing enough?" Alec teased, raising his eyebrow high in defiance.

"Let me finish." Jace shook his golden locks briefly. "Alec, everyone knows you are like the piece that keeps this family together. You should feel happy about that obviously, and whatever else is making you happy right now. I bet it's that girl that gave you that hickey isn't it?" Jace shoved at Alec's shoulder, rendering him slightly unstable for a moment, before he regained his balance and shoved Jace back.

"Shut up." Alec felt a small flush creep up his neck, to rest high on his cheek bones. He turned away, attempting to hide his embarrassment, and walked out of Jace's room. In any other situation it would have been fine to discuss this kind of thing with Jace—his best friend and brother—but seeing as Jace would never understand that the person who had given Alec the hickey was none other than Magnus, he didn't see it fit to say anything at all. Just the simple thought of Magnus caused Alec to come undone. He wanted to be back on that boat, running his hands all over the bare expanse of Magnus' skin and feel him nip strongly on his neck. What made it a bit... _Testy _in Alec's mind, was the fact that he had wanted much more clothes off.

He shook his head at the thought. There must have been something wrong with him—to feel such a strong lustful attraction towards Magnus. Definitely it was a feeling Alec had never had before—the feeling that it literally hurt him physically not to be touching a piece of Magnus' skin, whether it was his hand, lips or back—Alec felt this burning need to dance his fingers over top of it. On the other hand it was rather amazing getting to know little things here and there about Magnus; very endearing—creating this hope to stir within Alec that some time soon, Magnus might find it fit enough to let him fully in. With Magnus he wanted so much—need so much. But he didn't know what they were... Two people who were at odds when they first met each other, but somehow learnt to become slightly comfortable around one another, and then finally became two people who loved to brush their lips against one another.

"Fine. I'll stop pestering you about it, if you tell me who it was." Jace caught up to Alec in the hallway, rounding off in front of him, to impede Alec in his steps towards the front foyer.

"No. Jace, leave it alone. I thought we were supposed to go to Clary's house, hmm?" Alec gazed at Jace pointedly.

"Jesus, you are honestly being no fun at all today." Jace sighed a bit too dramatically, slinking his shoulders down. "Well then, lets get going. I don't want to keep her waiting all night," Jace smiled lightly to himself, thinking of Clary undoubtedly. Alec gazed at him curiously—there was a sort of airiness to himself lately, if one could look past the arrogance, over confidence, and terrible wit, that is.

"What is it with you and Clary anyways?" Alec asked, as they began to slip into their shoes at the front door.

"What do you mean?" Jace enquired, grabbing the keys to their Jeep, heading out the door.

"Have you not noticed the way you are as of late? I swear she must be slipping something into your drinks to make you so... So, _affectionate._" Alec drawled out the word affectionate. They had now made their way across the dull slab of grey driveway, coming up to the Jeep.

"Piss off." Jace remarked with a smirk as he slipped into the drivers seat. "She's just different from anyone else. I can't explain it. Alec, sometimes I feel as if I don't deserve someone like her. She's so beautiful, and persistent, and confident."

"I've never heard you speak of someone like that," Alec whispered, mostly to himself. Searching through his thoughts for a similar time, but finding none.

"Well that tells you just how much I like her I guess."

"Yeah it does. I'm going to have to tell her all of your embarrassing stories aren't I? Do you remember last summer when—"

"I swear Alexander Gideon, if you so as mention anything, I mean it, _anything, _even remotely embarrassing—"

"Hmm, I just won't say anything to her when you aren't around then." Alec briefly laughed, and smirked at the contempt look plastered across Jace's features. Jace reached over with his right hand, and harshly punched Alec in the stomach; causing Alec to jerk forward in his seat and gasp loudly at the sudden impact. "Okay, okay," Alec coughed. "Easy there." Alec shifted over in his seat a bit, inching closer to the passenger sides' door, in attempt to create some space between him and Jace. After that, Jace stayed silent—keeping his focus on the road ahead which was a blessing for Alec. Because now, in the small allotted time he was given before they would arrive at Clary's estate, Alec could think of Magnus.

His strong hands at the subtle curve of Alec's hips—his lips sucking feverishly on the fragile skin at his neck—the way Magnus' chest shifted over top of his—the friction they were creating on their lower halves. Alec longed to be back in that situation, even if he thought it was a bit ridiculous the way he was acting. To Alec, when they were on old man Penhallow's boat, he was entirely himself and at the same time a more cunning version of himself—who wasn't scared to initiate anything; who wasn't scared that Magnus wouldn't reciprocate what he was feeling. Alec still couldn't wrap his head around the whole situation; he definitely didn't think that moving to Alicante would introduce him to this whole new slightly frightening situation. But he was glad, nevertheless.

When he had mentioned to Jace earlier that he was strangely happy for once, it was true. And that happiness stemmed from being with Magnus consequentially—because here was a person that didn't know his past just yet, but wanted to know. Here was a person who was quite possibly the exact opposite—being overly sure of himself—and somehow brought out the confidence in Alec. Here was a person who Alec desired greatly on exponential levels, who he wanted desperately to be close to, and luckily Magnus felt the same way about Alec. Alec raised his fingers to his lips absent minded; he could almost feel the hard brush of Magnus' lips against his own in that moment.

Tomorrow would be a new day where Alec could get to know more and more about Magnus—a new day for sultry glances, heated touches, and breathless kisses. And Alec wanted it all, which was very different for him. Usually when he was submerged into a relationship, he liked to die it down a bit, and not show a substantial amount of affection. But this was different, and everything was changing for Alec; and he was equally excited and scared at the same time. He couldn't predict what could—would happen in the days to come, he just hoped for the best, because in the pit of his stomach he knew this journey with Magnus would be a good thing.

"Who ever you were making out with, must have left a pretty good impression on you." Jace grinned, giving Alec a small look, before turning his gaze back to the road ahead.

"What?" Alec somewhat squeaked—being ripped away from his thoughts.

"C'mon Alec, the look on your face and the way your touching your lips." Jace raised his eyebrow in question, while a sly grin laced his face. "You're thinking about it."

"And if I am?" Alec enquired a bit too hoarsely.

"I was just saying. No need to get your knickers in a bunch." Jace shrugged as he turned off to the right, coming up a hooded long, wide, gravel driveway which was surrounded by eclipsing weeping willow trees. The partial light of the moon peaked through the leaves and branches of the willow's, creating a sort of fantastical intricate design of white swatches along the ground of the driveway. In the distance Alec could faintly make out the shape of a house, that resembled the shape of Magnus' house, but instead this one was a stark red brick color.

"Knickers Jace?"

"Yes, _knickers_. To be honest, I've been watching Skins way to much." Jace laughed, eliciting a small smile from Alec. "Holy shit, look at that house." Jace tilted his head up, gesturing at the humongous estate in front of them. Alec gaped a bit, his mouth falling partially open—they both had the same stunned expression on their faces, as they had when they had first went to the Bane estate. This manor house was quite readily the same size, but had much more intricate detailing along every square surface. The house was made up of the same red brick material, and dark rustic gold trimming around the large rounded windows and front door. It reminded Alec of the old colonial houses he saw down south when he was younger, when Robert loved to take him and Jace to see the different designs of houses.

In comparison to their house, this one might have been about double the size, but then again Alec always liked smaller houses; they felt much more cozy, and warm—a place to be together with loved ones closely. "Are we just going to stay lurking outside?" Alec laughed and unbuckled his seat belt; then proceeded to bound out of the car, and walk around the front to Jace's side. "How long are we staying?"

"Not too long. Maybe an hour or two." Jace shrugged, and shoved the keys to the Jeep into his front pocket. They walked up to the large golden brown wood front door, and wrung the doorbell twice before they were greeted by a woman with her fiery locks pulled into a messy bun, a grey smock, and different colored paints splattered along her arms.

"Hello," she flicked a stray piece of red hair out of her emerald eyes, and gazed at both Jace and Alec a bit skeptically. "Sorry, I'm not too sure who you guys are..." she trailed off and gasped, raising her small hand to her mouth. She reached out for Jace's face abruptly and held his jaw in between her fingers—twisting his face from side to side. "I would recognize that jaw line from anywhere." She smiled warmly. "Stephen Herondale—he was your father. I went to school with him." Her face fell a bit, her eyes becoming more somber and focused. "I am sorry for your loss. He was a good man and so was your mother."

"Thank you," Jace sheepishly smiled. It wasn't customary that anyone brought up Jace's birth parents around him. It had been many years from the fatal accident that took his parents lives, and he wasn't one that liked to rehash things from the past. Of course his parents memory would always be there in his mind forever, but now he was grateful that he still had a family. A mother who loved him dearly, a father who treasured the time he was able to spend with him, a brother who was also his best friend, and a sister who idolized him greatly.

The woman turned her gaze to Alec then, and clapped her hands together with a gleeful smile on her face. "Of course you, are a Lightwood. You look so much like your mother and father."

"Yeah, I've been told that before." Alec gingerly said.

"I'm Mrs. Morgenstern by the way, if you two didn't clue in," she stepped back from the doorway. "Come in, come in. Are you guys here for Johnathan... Or Clary?" She asked as they stepped into the front foyer which was just as grand as the Bane estate, decked out with a beautiful strikingly large chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, cascading down—giving of the appearance of rain water falling. The inside of their house was more so normal, as compared to the harsh darkness of the Bane manor-with light grey walls, and plenty of hung paintings lining every inch of the walls.

"Hey!" Clary bounded down the stairs off to the left, taking two at a time. She was wearing a simple baggy light pink sheer tank top with a white ban-doo underneath, and high rise cut-offs. Her hair was pulled into two thick braids. "Mom this is Jace," she smiled up at him, her emerald eyes sparkling. Jace leaned over and lightly brushed his lips against her temple.

"Oh—Oh! This is _the _Jace. Clary has said a lot about you lately." Mrs. Morgenstern winked at Clary, causing Clary to roll her eyes.

"And this is Alec," Clary nodded her head in his direction. "Now, mom, if you don't mind we'll jus—t"

"Jocelyn, can you tell me what the hell this is?" A sharp voice came from around a hidden corner. Jocelyn turned her head to the direction of the voice, and sighed for a brief second, before a man walked into the foyer. He was clad in a sharp light grey suit, with a blood red tie. His hair was the same color as Johnathan's: white blonde and immaculately cut above his ears, and a hard face with equally as hard lines. His eyes were a steely dark brown color, so dark that they were almost the color of black water. The man was staggeringly tall, possibly the exact same height as Alec, and his shoulders were square and bulky. He looked strong—almost _too _strong and structurally sound, then anyone should be. He was holding a small stack of papers in his large hands, ominously looking over them-not realizing Jace and Alec were standing there. "I didn't give you an okay to go and blow money like this," he hissed.

And then he peared up from the papers, catching wind of Alec and Jace. "Valentine, this is—"

"Jocelyn, please, I am not that dim-witted. You think I wouldn't recognize who these two are? They're the sons of Stephen and Robert." Valentine offered a partial daunting smile and tucked the papers under his left armpit, before he made his way over to stand in front of Jace and Alec, offering his hand. "You have a very strong grip there," Valentine commented after he released Jace's hand. He shook Alec's hand afterwards, and then glanced over at Clary. "Clarissa, you can go run along now. Your mother and I have things to discuss." And with that, Valentine latched his large hand around Jocelyn's tiny pale wrist, and lead her to a separate hallway.

Alec hadn't realized it yet, but he had been holding his breath since Valentine had walked into the foyer. He gave off a sort of air to him, that told you he wasn't one who liked defiance. Valentine reminded Alec of Gerald a bit too much, but then again he didn't readily know each one personally. Just from first perceptions, Valentine seemed like the type of person that didn't mind how he got his way, while Gerald got his way through a manipulative, kind, gesture. Again he was thankful for his mother, even if she was a bit overbearing at times and also rather custom with her ways, and for his father who was the epitimy of who he wanted to be one day.

Clary lead them up the staircase she had bounded down mere minutes ago, into a sort of bonus room with a large home theatre room set up. Johnathan was already up there, lounging on one of the black leather recliner chairs, stuffing his face full of popcorn. He greeted Jace a bit cynically as they walked in, and greeted Alec much more friendly. There was definitely a sort of malicious nature Johnathan had towards Jace, and in Alec's mind it was over Clary. He began to wonder if him and Johnathan could connect in some way over trying to protect their baby sisters. Alec not being too fond of William, and Johnathan likewise with Jace.

They all sat there in their recliner chairs watching a bunch of re-runs of the fourth doctor, and at some point they moved on to watching Lord's of Dog town. It was well past midnight when they had finally made their way home, and instantly when Alec walked into the room he slumped over onto his bed, pulled the covers up high, and fell asleep to the image of bright yellow-green cat eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I promised you guys I would update today, so here it is! I took me a stangely long time to write this, I have no idea why... Oh yeah, keep in mind that Alec and Magnus were together on the boat until about seven-ish. I kind of wanted this chapter to show you a bit more of the interaction between Jace and Alec, also to show a bit of what is going on in Jace's head regarding Clary. The story about the accident will be introduced in the coming chapters, and yes it is very tramatic, in my opinion. Oh yeah, and here's Valentine! Very much like Gerald, but he doesn't neccassarily care about putting on the act of seeming civilized in the presence of others. I have the next chapter almost complete, so it won't be a long wait like it was for this one. Again I am terribly sorry about that!**

**Review please! And tell me some of your speculations on: what the accident was, what happened to Palmer Bane, why is William a little prat to Alec, where was Robert for seemingly a year. I want to know what you guys are thinking (:**

**Amber,**


	28. A Day in the Life

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN**

_**A Day in the Life  
><strong>  
>"He didn't notice that the lights had changed, A crowd of people stood and stared<br>They'd seen his face before, Nobody was really sure  
>If he was from the House of Lords."<em>

* * *

><p>"Hey, do you want to meet me at Sage's right now?" Magnus spoke into his phone, as he stood against the cracked grey slate curb beside his car, right outside the door of his favorited bar. Mainly he loved it because of his familiar relationship with the owner Sage, and secondly for the pleasantries that he was allowed access to the bar and alcohol which was restricted to minors. Sage was a long time friend of Olive's, quite possibly—in Magnus' opinion—they were even closer than just friends; but neither one of them would admit to that, in the long run.<p>

_"Give me fifteen minutes, and I'll be there."  
><em>  
>"Okay, sounds good. I'll just be inside at the end, where we usually sit." And with that Magnus clicked his phone off. The sky was pitch black at the time—he had dropped Alec off at the edge of his driveway mere minutes ago, and needed a soothing drink to slip down his throat, to essentially cool of the blazing burn that Alec left on him. He still felt extremely strung up on the memory of Alec there, beneath him, their naked chests moving over one another in a feverish rhythm. Magnus couldn't deny the fact that he yearned for more and in that respect he let his mind wonder to what possibly could have happened if old man Penhallow hadn't showed up. It could have went further, much further, but in retrospect Magnus was thankful that it hadn't. He didn't want to rush into things, for fear of destroying what little they already had together.<p>

It was staggering to Magnus that he even had thoughts such as these; it wasn't a usual thing for Magnus to be so infatuated with one soul person—he just wasn't necessarily that type of person in the least. He was more so the person that took a small amount of trepidation in being submerged into a relationship; also he was very physical—sexually—which was mainly why his past relationships hadn't lasted. It was all about the heat and pure lust in a relationship to Magnus, and when it came down to the emotional part of relationships he became a closed of stoic person. He never felt as if he could trust anyone with the regret and longing thoughts within his mind; it was a personal gateway into who he truly was, and yet he could never succumb to allowing anyone obtain the key to that gate.

But, nevertheless, Magnus wanted—for some reason he was unsure of—Alec to uncover everything that made Magnus, _Magnus. _Now depending on if they were ever going to get to that point, only time could tell.

Magnus walked through the cherry colored mahogany door, into Sage's bar. Pungent smells of hard liquor and weathered wood wafted around the room, and straight to Magnus nose—a mixture of smells he so famously loved. It created this sort of haven for Magnus, because essentially he had always loved the smell of the back woods interwoven all around their houses, and whenever there was a recent down pour sheeting the trees in slick rain drops—it made it that much better. At the same time, he loved the smell of liquor because it was something he had become accustomed to over the years: rich and decadent. The bar was packed with other towns people who were the regulars at Sage's intermingled with a few newer patrons. Magnus spotted Sage behind the sleek black bar, preparing rounds of drinks for a couple of girls in tight barely-there cocktail dresses. He was dressed in his usual wear: a loose dark green flannel top with a black t-shirt underneath and dark blue distressed jeans. His hair was cut stupendously around his face, outlining his hard jawline, which was littered with brown-grey stubble.

Magnus slid into his usual red leather seat, down near the left end of the bar, and sat there fiddling with his iPhone for a second or two, before Sage made his way on over to where he was situated. "Magnus, Magnus, Magnus." Sage shook his head back and forth as he wiped his hands with a blue and white checkered rage.  
>"Weren't you and Will just here a couple of days ago?" His dark chocolate eyes danced with amusement.<p>

"You know I _cannot_ resist my alcohol," Magnus teased as he leaned forward on the edge of the bar top on his elbows, tucking his hands under his chin.

"I swear if Gerald ever found out about how much you can take down, you'd be in a whole lot of hell, boy." Sage gazed at Magnus pointedly, with a small knowing smile tugging at his lips. Sage would never be the one to stop Magnus from drinking—even if he didn't particularly condone it. "Now what'll it be for you tonight?"

"Sex on the beach." Magnus replied briskly, without hesitation.

"Oh? You've got a new catch don't you?" Sage asked earnestly as he began to busy himself with preparing Magnus' drink behind the bar.

"What would make you assume that?" Magnus questioned.

"Please Magnus, don't insult me. Whenever you order a Sex on the beach, I _know _that you've found yourself someone new." Magnus made to protest, but Sage held his hand up in front of him. "_Because _when you start getting drunk you tell me all about this _someone_ in pretty fine detail. And because I can remember the first time you got drunk off of the lot of these, and you dubbed it as your 'relationship' drink or what not." Sage shrugged, as he pushed the drink forward across the short space in front of Magnus.

"You are very observant," Magnus grinned and raised the cup to his mouth, letting the cool refreshing liquid buzz its way down his throat—settling in the base of his stomach.

"I've been told that on occasion." Sage shrugged his shoulders up. "Now go on, tell me all about this new _someone, _you're in a relationship with."

"Can't," Magnus replied as he downed the last drops of his drink, slamming it down atop the bar.

"Oh?" Sage said more so in question.

"Because—I'm not _technically_ in a relationship. I don't exactly know what we are..." Magnus glanced down at the empty cup furrowing his eyebrows tightly together, as he searched through his thoughts. "Can I have another?" He gazed up at Sage earnestly.

"Of course, but when I'm done making this one, and tending to my other customers we are talking Bane." Sage smiled, and hastily whipped together another Sex on the beach for Magnus, settling it in front of him, before he made his way to the other side of the bar to prepare the others drinks.

"Well, look who we have here. None other than Magnus Bane himself," Magnus groaned internally to himself, closing his eyes briefly before swinging around in his chair to face the voice of those words.

"Willow," Magnus offered a disheartening smile her way, and hopefully she had distinguished that as a clue to leave him alone. She stood their in front of him—a little too closely—with a tight slinky green tank top on, which had a plunging neckline showing off the expanse of her tan ample chest and harshly defined collar bones. She also had on a tight pair of black skinny jeans and bleak white pumps to round out her outfit. Very subdued and toned down—in Magnus' opinion—from what she usually wore. Her ashy brown hair was in loose curls around her head, framing the heart shape of her face; and her pale golden eyes were rimmed with a thick layer of silver eyeliner.

"What are you doing here sitting all alone at Sage's?" She asked, as she sat down in the seat next to his. Magnus sighed. Willow was the last person he had wanted to see. He could do without the constant badgering of his ex-girlfriend, to be quite honest.

"I won't be alone for long. How about yourself, _Willow,_" Magnus more so hissed her name, as if there were venom lacing his tongue. "What brings you here all alone?"

"Can't a girl get away for a couple of hours by herself?"

"Can't a guy?" Magnus shot back.

"Hmm, I suppose," Willow leaned over closer than Magnus would have wished her to be, and laid one perfectly buffed finger nail on the front of chest. "But you never like to be alone."

"That shows how little you know about me," Magnus muttered, taking another slow swig of his drink. Willow still had her finger perfectly poised in the middle of his chest, and slowly she began to trail it up, causing Magnus to cringe in a small amount of disgust. Finally her finger stopped right underneath his chin, and she crooked her finger slightly, tilting his chin up.

"You seem different Magnus." She whispered, staring directly into his eyes.

"It must be the lack of makeup I'm wearing. I'll have you know, I haven't been home since yesterday."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Willow batted her eyelashes, and smirked.

"Oh on the contrare, that _should_ surprise you. I rarely go a day without doing up my appearance at home. Once again—that shows how little you know about me." Magnus grinned cynically as Willow's smirk dropped from her pretty face.

"Can you act civil around me, Magnus? What did I ever do?" Willow leaned back in her seat, and crossed her arms structurally over her chest, giving Magnus a hard look; narrowing her eyes.

"You cheated. Does that ring a bell?" Magnus quirked his left eyebrow high in defiance. "Now please, we don't need to be having this conversation right now. I'm sure you can be alone somewhere else." He was being harsh; he had specifically known he was being harsh, but in some respect he couldn't help it. Willow was the epitomey of someone who you regretted to date—someone who was not to far off from the personality of your own, that you just tended to hate them after some time. The fact she had cheated on Magnus was not actually that big of a deal to him—yes, it was terrible nevertheless, because no Magnus didn't like to be cheated on; but more so he didn't like her because she was a persistent overbearing person, who Magnus desperately wanted to get away from.

She looked hurt. There was slight regret in her pale golden eyes, and her mouth was set in a quivering hard line. "Magnus!" James voice flooded its way over to Magnus' ears, and in that moment Magnus praised the lord that he had finally showed up.

"I guess that's my cue to leave," Willow looked disgruntled, and scowled briefly in the direction of James. It was obvious enough that she wanted to continue the conversation Magnus wanted to end; and now that James had finally shown up, she would have to wait for a later date. "I'll see you around Magnus," she gave him one last half-hearted smile, which didn't meet her eyes, and turned around on the balls of her toes—sauntering over to the other side of the room, fading in with the crowd of people. Magnus knew he was being rude towards her, but he couldn't help it. She was trivial in his mind after their fallout, and Magnus Bane wasn't one to dwell on trivial things.

"Was that—?" James began as he had finally found his place beside Magnus at the bar, now occupying the stool which Willow had been previously perched upon.

"Willow," Magnus injected, sighing lightly to himself. He swung around in his bar stool, his knees scraping against the front half wall of the bar. "I didn't expect her to be here." Magnus fiddled with the empty cup in front of himself; he wished Sage was done attending to his other customers, long enough so that he was able to refill the drink that Magnus had a burning need for. James sat down as well, and placed his right elbow upon the bar top—leaning his head over to rest upon his hand, and gazed at Magnus with nostalgic liquid silver eyes. In the slight darkness of the bar, James' features stood out more predominately: the almond shape curve of his eyes, the subtle inset cupids bow lining his top lip, the straight soft lines of his angular buttoned nose, and the way his sleek silver colored hair wavered over to the left side of his head—swooping up at a fantastical angle.

"I can tell by the look on your face that you didn't quite enjoy the chance meeting either." James grinned at him, and despite Magnus' will power, he felt the corners of his lips tug up.

"Was it that obvious?" Magnus drawled sarcastically, smirking. He could see Willow from the corner of his eye, lingering in the distance. She was a small blip on his radar however, and far too soon he became distracted and forgot about her standing there.

"When it comes to her—yes, it was that obvious." Sage began to make his way over to James and Magnus by then, and as he did so James reached into the back pocket of his jeans briskly. Once Sage had fully perched himself in front of them, James slapped his hand down hard on the sleek black wood finish of the bar top, a green bill under his hand. "Scotch. And make it dirty." James stifled back a low laugh, but continued to smile gleefully anyways. Sage quirked his left eyebrow in question to James' motions, and then shrugged it off, getting to work on James drink.

"Is there something wrong with you Jem?" Sage asked a bit too starkly, as he finished up his drink, shifting it swiftly across the wood top into the waiting hands of James.

"No, no. I'm absolutely, positively, incredibly, fine." James bellowed, raising the glass to his lips, throwing his head back, and downing the drink within a few brisk gulps.

"Jem, you're beginning to scare me as well." Magnus laughed and shook his head at the pure enjoyment plastered across James' face.

"Guess who has the keys to his fathers cabin out by Idris?" James beamed; his smile couldn't get any bigger. Magnus let his mouth slowly fall open, and just as quickly he regained his composure. He gaped at James, essentially, taking in his words—conjuring up his own thoughts of what that could entail. "And," James continued. "Guess who was given the okay to take everyone up there in two weeks? Without the parents—just all of us, alone."

"Jem, have I ever told you that I love your father?"

"No, I don't believe you have."

"Well, I love him." Magnus laughed, and instinctively reached into his front pocket for his phone. For some reason, he wanted to tell Alec immediately—whether he was invited or not—Magnus was going to make damn sure that he was going. On top of the infamous rush of thoughts going through his mind, of what possibly could happen at the cabin, Magnus decided that this is what he needed after the harsh trials of his life that were vastly approaching. Five days... And another year would have passed; in its wake taking a piece of Magnus away from him, as it went. At the thought of that, he felt the smile fall from his face and involuntarily his eyebrows knit together.

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" James leaned in close to Magnus, whispering lowly as to not gain anyone attention. Sage had took the secretive gesture as his hint to leave the two of them alone.

"How can I not Jem?" Magnus hissed. He didn't intend to come off so harsh towards James, but he couldn't help it for the life of him. "I'm surprised I'm actually functioning properly right now."

"It's because of Alec," James implied with an impassive warm smile on his face. Magnus jerked his head back slightly at that. His eyes widening in a mixture of wonder and horror.

"What do you mean, James?" Magnus asked hesitantly, trying not to let his voice crack under the uncertainty of the situation. James couldn't know what had just happened on the boat earlier between Alec and Magnus. He couldn't know about them, unless he had witnessed them kissing at Sebastian's party. Or unless William had mentioned it to James out of confidence.

"I don't know. He seems like a genuine guy that I can see you putting your trust into." James merely shrugged his shoulders up, and with that a small amount of tension released from within the tightly wound muscles of Magnus' back. "I just thought that maybe the reason why you seemed a bit more... Yourself, especially around this time of year, was because you've found a new person to confide in."

"Jem, I always have you to confide in." Magnus offered with a sheepish smile.

"Yes, but I'm not always around am I? I wish I could be, but I can't. I have Tessa to deal with you know," James teased and nudged Magnus lightly in the ribs with his elbow.

"Mmm, that is true." Magnus frowned and turned his gaze back down to his still empty glass. He had forgotten to ask Sage to give him a refill, but maybe that was what was best for him at the present moment. He didn't need to continue drinking—he knew the only reason sometimes why he did so was to dull the harsh pain the thought of Palmer brought to him. "I could never be partial to you for it Jem. I hope you can believe that,"

"Of course. I'm just glad you have someone else to go to. I like him—Alec. He's a good person, from what I've seen."

"Yeah. I like him too." Magnus muttered, too low for James to hear. Truthfully Magnus wanted to confide in Alec, tell him about his past, make him see the consistent side of himself—but he was a bit weary to the idea. He rightfully didn't know many of the sides to Alec, and how could he trust that all those pieces would accept Magnus' deeper inner most thoughts? How could he trust that Alec would for sure _not _bestow pity on him? Sure, Alec had understood that Magnus wasn't as objective to others pitying him; but that still didn't help ease his doubts. Because no matter how many times he had told James and William that he didn't need their remorse, he could still see remnants of pity etched in the pits of their eyes.

"God knows Will has his own problems. So yes, I am deciding in my mind that Alec is a good thing." Magnus' ears perked up to that, his attention being aroused. He turned in his seat to face James directly.

"What do you know about the way Will has been acting lately?" Magnus cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes searching James' silver ones for any form of reasoning that could be hidden there.

"You mean the fact he has been more closed off for the past week?" Magnus simply nodded his head and straightened his back out. "I—I don't know anything about it really. But... I'm worried about him, Magnus. He seems so disgruntled about something, just pacing around his room randomly. I'm sure he will get over what is bothering him soon, but still I tend to worry a lot."

"And he won't talk to you about it?" Magnus asked earnestly. He knew that this had something to do with Alec, or quite possibly it could have been completely directed to something else—and Magnus wouldn't know. As of late, Magnus and William hadn't been talking deeply—not that they regularly did—but William was distancing himself but at the same time wrestling his way back in with Magnus. James gave Magnus a sly look, and rolled his eyes at Magnus' insinuation.

"Do you not know Will at all? Must I remind you that he is the least likely person to spill his frustrations out on a whim?"

"And again: that is true." Magnus winked. "Sagimir! Get over here," Magnus called down the bar playfully, earning him a deathly glare from Sage—seeing that he was flirting with one of the girls in barely-there clothing at the end of the bar. Sage leaned in close to the girl, and spoke lightly into her ear before making his way over to Magnus.

"What did I tell you about using my name Magnus?"

"I don't seem to be able to remember." Magnus smirked and ran his fingers throughout his hair, remembering briefly how dressed down he was. "Another round of drinks, yeah? I'm feeling a bit more loose."

"When have you never felt loose?" Sage chuckled and earned a full hearted smile to capture James' lips. Magnus only pouted slightly at the implication, but waved it off anyways. "You still want a Sex on the beach? Or do you want to go back to your usual hard liquor?" Sage wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Magnus had to think for a moment if he did want to succumb and give into something he had previously decided he did not want to do. Drinking away his problems was never the answer, and he absolutely knew that. But at the present moment, it seemed like a pretty goddamn good option. He didn't want to worry anymore; he didn't want to feel the pang of longing and regret anymore; he didn't want to see the image of his mothers flowing hair whipping around in the breeze in his memories; he didn't want to image her hands cradling him close at night when nightmares struck him hard; he didn't want to think of the promise he had made with William; he didn't want to think about what he was doing to Alec.

He didn't want to feel anything at all. "Let's go back to the hard liquor."

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><p><strong>AN: Ugh, I am actually so dissapointed that I didn't update sooner. I kept putting off some things in this chapter, and I couldn't get into it for a bit—but ever since last night, I go the inspiration to finish it the way I wanted it to be. I know it might be a bit confusing as to the age of Sage; he is in his forties (and pretty good-looking) and Olive is in her fifties (she's a cougar, yes). Say hello to Willow! (Loosely based upon Woosley Scott, although I believe I don't give him enough credit). And don't worry, she won't create _too _much havoic... Woot woot, camping trip! I've already been preparing for those chapters (: it won't be like only one chapter about the Carstairs cabin, it will span out over maybe three to four? It depends on how much time I have really. AND YOUR REVIEWS. I'm slowly attempting to ease you guys into the mind of Magnus around the anniversary of Palmer's death. James, oh how I love James! I can't get enough of him. When I first planned this out, I didn't even include Jem in it at all. BLASPHEMY!**

**Guys, please review ): ? I know, it may be quite cliche for me to (sort of) beg for reviews... But I really do love reading them, and I want to know what your guys' concerns are, or what you like about it. Can we get it to 400 and make my dreams come true? Please review! (that rhymed lol).**

**Amber,**


	29. Glad All Over

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT**

_**Glad All Over  
><strong>  
>"Ain't no doubt about it, this must be love, A-one little kiss from you, And<br>I feel glad all over, Ooh, baby, hot dang, Gilly, it's silly  
>But I'm glad all over<em>_."_

* * *

><p>Alec walked throughout the school hallways with a brisk stride—Isabelle and Jace instantly faded into the background. Everything around him was a timid flowing blur; the loud bustling of the people littering the halls became a distant hum and all the fervent colors and patterns others adorned, blended together. The only thing on Alec's mind was Magnus; his name alone made Alec's heart putter wildly in his chest. Even if they couldn't embrace one another the way Alec wanted them to, it was still a pleasure having the grace to be around him—close to him.<p>

Alec had rushed out of the house that morning; on account of the fact that he had over slept due to his restless dreams of Magnus—dreams he would never dare to admit to. As he was rushing around the house, he wasn't able to pay any attention to the way he looked. His cheeks were flustered with a strange anticipating heat, and his hair—dishevelled as it always was—stuck to small swatches of sweat beaded along his forehead. He dressed haphazardly, pulling a fresh dark blue-green shirt over his head, and threw on a pair of his infamous black jeans. One knee was distressed and ripped lightly at the seams. He looked horrible in his opinion and was, in the least, a bit embarrassed that Magnus had to see him like that. But those thoughts shouldn't have scuttled into his mind; it wasn't necessarily something Alec used to worry about.

Alec came upon the bright orange door to Ms. Graymark's English class and literally burst through into the room in his hazy state. His eyes instantly fell on Magnus, who was sitting there, near the back of the classroom, laughing about something with William, Sebastian and Johnathan—while Camille sat there with a scowl on her dolled up face; obviously not taking a fond liking to what the guys had been laughing about. Magnus' laugh carried strongly throughout the room, sending hot tremors along the bare skin of Alec's pale arms. He looked amazing, sitting there with his long, dark grey leather clad, legs stretched out underneath the desk in front of him; while his tawny smooth arms were crossed lazily over top his bright red blazer and off-white semi-glittery button up underneath. Alec could see from where he stood at the front of the room, that the tips of Magnus' lush black hair were laced with silver and gold glitter.

"Hey! Alec!" Clary called out to him and gestured with a flick of her hand for him to come forward. Instantly at the mention of his name, Magnus snapped to attention and locked eyes with Alec across the room—yellow-green meeting lake blue—and gave him a signature devilish smirk. Alec made his way down the isle then, not once breaking eye contact with Magnus, and perched himself in the desk in front of him. Sure, the long gaze that they had shared between one another could have been deemed as socially unacceptable—do to the length of time and the raw longing held within that gaze—but no one seemed to notice.

"Hey Clary." Alec smiled at her warmly. She was a bright blazing fire today, her hair was in fluffed out curls around her head, her lips a pungent shade of orange-red—contrasting greatly with her pale freckled skin—and her faded cream maxi dress was flecked with pale green and yellow intricate spirals emitting from the base, fading as it reached her small midsection, which was tied off by a thin brown woven belt.

"I was thinking that you and Jace should come over again." She leaned over onto her desk and placed her delicate chin on top of her knuckles.

"So _that's_ why you weren't replying to my text?" Magnus cut in and laughed lowly from behind Alec; causing Alec to shiver in some form of anticipation. He didn't understand what his body was anticipating to... But he hated it, and at the same time liked it. He knew now that he couldn't help that the things Magnus did would send him into a spiralling frenzy of desire—quite possibly he would never be able to get over the disastrous things Magnus' voice could do to him.

"Yeah," Alec turned around in his seat to face Magnus. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, it was no problem at all Alexander." Magnus drawled as he cocked his head sultrily to the side; taking a quick once over of Alec. Alec's face flushed hotly and he began to nibble on the bottom of his lip out of habit.

"So, what do you think? Tonight?" Clary continued, interrupting Alec's brief fleeting thoughts of what Magnus and Alec could do in that moment if they were alone.

"Uhh," Alec couldn't quite muster a proper answer. He was too mesmerised by the sparkly cooper glitter lacing the underneath of Magnus' eyes, and the thick black strip along the top—making the color of his eyes so vibrant. "I think I have plans al—already. But I'll mention it to Jace when I see him, if you want me to." Alec finished and turned his head away to regard Clary who was slightly frowning. She shrugged her shoulders up and uttered a small 'ok' under her breath before returning her attention to doodle in the index of her coil notebook.

"Blue eyes," Camille spoke up and sashayed her way around the front of his desk, leaning up against the left corner edge closest to his body, in her short, tight, blood red dress. If she had moved a little to the right and down a bit, she would have been sitting in his lap—which made Alec a bit uncomfortable in the least. "You coming to the lake next week-end right?" She batted her long thick eyelashes at him and began to rustle the top of his hair; slowly running her fingers throughout it.

"What?" He stared up at her quizzically. "What lake?" He asked earnestly.

"Lovely, if you would have answered your messages last night—you would have known Jem is taking us all to his families cabin next week." Magnus replied, his cool breath washing over the back of Alec's neck.

"_Lovely_?" William turned sharply in his seat to regard Magnus—his already deep blue eyes turning a few shades darker. Alec couldn't read his expression at all, but really Alec didn't know William well enough to do so. And quite frankly he didn't intend to get to know him at all. Magnus made to reply to William's accusing tone of voice, but just as he spoke up Ms. Graymark made her way into the room.

"Ms. Belcourt, if you will take your seat please." She gazed at her pointedly as she crossed the space from the door to her desk briskly—her high heels clicking loudly on the tiled floor. Camille gave Alec a less than subtle wink before she eased herself off of the edge of his desk and returned to her own spot. Ms. Graymark sorted through a few stacks of thick documents a top her desk for a short while. "So class, today we will be watching a short film called 'Run, Lola run'," the class erupted into a brief mantra of hoots and hollers. "But—" She raised her finger to the class "—you _will _need to pay attention. Because you will be handing in a three page film analysis regarding the different symbolism within the movie. Got it?" From behind, two people yelled out a low 'Boo!' in remark to the assignment, and Alec faintly noted that it was Johnathan and Sebastian.

Ms. Graymark rolled her eyes at that. And walked over to the far right wall of the room, where a large projector screen was held up by two thick silver chains. "Now if you will all turn your desk to regard to projector..." She trailed off, as she began to busy herself with getting everything set up. All around the room everyone started to shift their desks around—metal scraping against the laqcuer floor tiles—settling in the direction of the screen. Now, Alec's seat was directly beside Magnus' on his right, and on his left was a small willowy girl with blonde wheat hair, and large brown eyes. Magnus' forearm briefly brushed against Alec's—and really that only made Alec want even more contact.

As the movie started, Alec couldn't help but take quick side glances at Magnus; studying him, loving the way his nose arched upwards at the end and the definite line of his jaw. Alec also noticed the tense set of his shoulders and the way his finger tips seemed to shake—inching closer to Alec's hand which rested upon his right knee. Alec wondered briefly if Magnus was experiencing the same need to make some form of contact with each other, in a situation that deemed it impossible.

Suddenly, Magnus' hand shot up in the air and for a second Clary made to swat at his hand thinking he was purposefully blocking her view from the movie. Ms. Graymark noticed his hand, and came over to the edge of their row. "Yes, Magnus?"

"If you would please excuse me, I seem to have forgotten something in my locker." Magnus stood up from his desk, and pushed his seat backwards into Clary's desk.

"Oh...Okay..." Ms. Graymark was a bit hesitant to let him leave the classroom, but she didn't stop him otherwise. Before Magnus made his way down the row to the front of the classroom, he let his finger tips secretively trail along the back of Alec's neck. Then he was gone down the row, through the bright orange door, and Alec was left in his wake to sit there in complete unrelenting wanting. His body instantly felt hot from the subtle touch Magnus bestowed upon him, his forehead prickling with sweat.

He sat there in his seat for minutes that seemed like hours, clenching and unclenching his hands, positively paying no attention what-so-ever to the movie. He couldn't take it anymore, he needed some way to relieve the tension that had built up within him. Slowly he shuffled his way out of his seat, and over to where Ms. Graymark sat behind her desk. "Uhm, can I go to the washroom?" Alec whispered lowly. Ms. Graymark didn't even raise her head to him; she was engrossed with the papers and documents she had in front of her, but she did give him a faint nod—and haistly he left the room.

The hallway was errily quite and empty. Bright scatters of light seaped through the enormous skylights overhead, the light reflecting off of the laqcuer floor partially blinded Alec as he moved throughout the hallways stealthly. He walked around for a couple of seconds down the long wide main hallway; at a certain dip to the left he was forcefully pulled to his side—his heart beat wildly in his chest for a moment before he took in the image of Magnus looming over him. Alec was now being backed up against a hard brick wall, in a narrow seemingly deserted hallway.

Magnus' eyes were dark, darker than there usual tint. He ran his smooth finger tips throughout Alec's hair and at the same time inched his body closer and closer to Alec's until their hip bones met. "God, I want to be the only one who can run my fingers through your hair," Magnus whispered trailing a hot line of kisses across Alec's jaw line, stopping right when he got to his ear—where he began to nibble lightly on the sensitive skin. Alec threaded his hands around Magnus' waist, placing his hands on the small of his back. He sighed deeply at the feeling of Magnus' hands drifting through his hair, and the sensation of Magnus nibbling on his earlobe, flicking his tongue ever so slightly.

Magnus then pulled back a little and bore his eyes into Alec's. Yes, back in the class it was evident now that Magnus was having the exact same problem as Alec—both had a burning need for one another that was terribly hard to deny. He pressed his lips to Alec's cheek softly and pain-stakingly slow. "We shouldn't be doing this in a hallway." He whispered as his lips moved on to the corner of Alec's lips. "Tell me when to stop, Alexander." He damn near purred, releasing Alec's hair; trailing his hands down Alec's body to rest low—very low—on his back. Then he kissed Alec with such intensity that his head began to spin.

Alec parted his lips willingly, letting Magnus' tongue slip in to tangle with his own. Magnus covertly twisted his tongue around Alec's and ran it across the roof of Alec's mouth making him whimper in pleasure. Magnus pushed his hands under and up Alec's dark blue-green t-shirt, teasing the skin along his abdomen and chest feverishly. Alec moved his hands from where they rested on the small of Magnus' back, up to his neck—snaking it around, so he could pull him even closer. Magnus started to suck Alec's bottom lip into his mouth, scraping his teeth lightly over the sensitive skin eliciting another sound of pleasure from the back of Alec's throat.

Things continued like that for a long time, helplessly their tongues fought for dominace, as Alec attempted to pull Magnus even closer, while Magnus ran his hands all over Alec's upper body underneath his shirt. It was when Alec began to tug on the free ends of Magnus' hair that Magnus lost his willful control to not take it further. Magnus pressed Alec even harsher into the brick wall and seductively rubbed his core against Alec's. "Shit Magnus," Alec groaned and let his head fall back against the wall. Given the new situation Magnus latched his lush puffy lips onto Alec's neck and sucked feverishly, while grinding his hips into Alec's harshly. Gyrating at a delicious thrilling speed. The heat and fricition between them proved to be too much, cutting off all of their other senses to their surroundings, because in that moment neither of them heard the faint clicking of stilletos on the floor just a little ways away from where they were fully embracing one another.

"Uhh... Alec?" Isabelle's timid voice cut through his reverie and instantly his eyes shot open. Magnus froze against him, his lips still pressed against the side of Alec's neck and his hips still pushed firmly against Alec's. Alec turned in the direction of Isabelle, and regarded her with large eyes, his face giving away his apperant shock substantially. He let his hands drop fast to his sides, and lightly he pushed Magnus away from his body—which, given the circumstances, Magnus was more than willing to do.

"I—I—We—" Alec stuttered greatly, not knowing what to say to his sister who stood there with a knowing tinge to her deep dark eyes. Sure she was the only one that knew of Magnus and Alec—to some extent—but he would have never wanted her to catch them embracing ever. He wanted to keep their intimate moments out of the reach of anyone for as long as he could handle.

"Hello Isabelle," Magnus said cooly, half-heartedly smiling at her, as if what they had just been caught doing didn't faze him at all. This was Isabelle, Alec's baby sister... She should not have witnessed what had just went on, and Alec was mortified by that. He felt all the blood drain from his face—his skin turning sheet white.

"Hi, Magnus." Isabelle smiled gleefully, to Alec's surprise. "You can call my Izzy by the way."

"Well _Izzy,_" Magnus returned her grin with an equally as dazzling smile of his own as he placed his hands behind his back. "How about we forget that you saw me and your brother making out, and well grinding against one another?"

"Magnus!" Alec hissed, and this time the blood had returned to his face making him the color of a bright red fire cracker.

"What? You said she knows about us right?" Magnus raised his hand to Alec's cheek and brushed the pad of his thumb over the flush on Alec's face. Alec however, didn't take the sentiment and swatted his hand away.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to be blunt about what we were doing!" Alec sighed and brought his left hand up to his eyes—rubbing them for a brief moment in sudden frustration.

"Alec, it's fine. I know what it's like to have urges like... That." Isabelle wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Magnus slapped his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing at the shocked look adorning Alec's face at Isabelle's implication.

"Oh my god," Alec groaned and rolled his eyes greatly at the roof of the school. This was not the way things were supposed to go. Not at all. "Iz, can you just honestly never bring this up again?" Alec asked pleadingly. Isabelle sauntered her way over from her spot down the hall, to stand just shy of where they stood.

"Sure," she shrugged and pursed her lips playfully. She spun on the tips of her toes away from Alec and Magnus, trekking down the opposite end of the hallway. Her inky black hair waved all around her. "But you know me," Isabelle called back to them, "and seriously, I'm not making any promises!" She laughed haughtily as she slipped around the corner to the left at the end of the narrow hall. Alec looked over at Magnus who was still attempting with all his power not to laugh at the situation. His eyes were bright and playful now, as well his lips turned up at the corners teasingly.

"It's not funny Magnus," Alec said with an impassive straight face, snaking his muscled arms over his ample chest. Magnus shook his head and made his way over to Alec, standing as close as he dared to.

"Alexander—" Magnus said huskily as he wrapped his arms around Alec's neck.

"T—That has been twice Magnus. Twice where we have almost gotten caught—well no, in this case we did get caught." Alec sighed, biting the insides of his cheeks in defiance. Because truth be told he wanted to continue what they had just been doing before Isabelle had interupted, but knew that they couldn't.

"By your sister, may I add. Someone who knows already." Magnus pointed out, cocking his left eyebrow high on his tawny flawless forehead.

"What if it was someone else?" Alec shuddered at the thought—he wasn't sure if he could take anyone else knowing. He was partially glad that it was restricted to only Isabelle and that no one else knew. Although he did wish that no one knew in the first place. Magnus' eyes became solem as he gazed into Alec's eyes, the smile dropped from his face regretfully.

"We will just have to be careful, lovely. And not do anything in school." Magnus pressed his lips lightly to Alec's forehead—a shiver ran throughout Alec's body at the coldness of his lips and the coldness of his finger tips at the base of Alec's neck. Alec bit his lip and nodded his head. It would be hard not being able to touch Magnus, to kiss him, to hold him. But it was something they inevitably had to do. They couldn't get carried away in such a public area—there was definitely time after school and on the week-ends to become carried away with one another; no matter how much Alec wanted to be able to do it all the time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Time, this week went by so fast, I was incredibly busy, and likewise I am incredibly sorry that this update took so long! I had to get some Malec loving in there—this is only a small amount of all the loving there will be. But, it won't get to the absolute high point of the loving for awhile. Why? Because I want this to be semi-realistic and long! Things are about to get a bit testy in the coming chapters (you'll see why) and man there's actually so much going on this week—in their world. I bet you guys forgot about the Homecoming dance! And then on a somber note, Palmer's passing date is on Saturday. And yes, it will be explained soon what actually happened to her, but no you won't exactly know just yet how badly it has affected Magnus and the way he preceives himself. It was an extremley touchy subject to right about in my opinion (the things that go through his mind). So yeah, this chapter was just some fun loving (: and also I wanted to prelude to the sort of dynamic that Magnus and Isabelle will have.**

**Thank you guys so much for getting me over 400 reviews! Like this is crazy! I appreciate you all so much!**

**Review pretty please :D**

**Amber,**


	30. Honey Pie

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER TWENTY NINE**

_**Honey Pie  
><strong>  
>"Honey pie you are making me crazy, I'm in love but I'm lazy, So won't you<br>please come home. Oh honey pie my position is tragic  
>Come and show me the magic<em>_."_

* * *

><p>"I can't get this," Alec whispered in partial frustration regarding his work in front of him. He sighed loudly as he scribbled messy notes into his black coil notebook. Magnus could feel the deep sigh within Alec through the tips of his fingers—which were freely roaming beneath Alec's dark blue-green cotton shirt. Magnus completely failed at the <em>'no interaction in school—have to be careful' <em>sort-of-rule, set in place and it had only been a couple of hours since their incident in the hallway with Alec's sister, Isabelle—and Magnus was already trailing his hands _everywhere_ underneath Alec's shirt. Alec was just that god damned tempting to Magnus—his skin so pale, fragile and soft—it was hard for Magnus to resist the needy urge to run his fingers over every strip of skin. Even given how hesitant Alec was to showing some type of affection, Magnus knew Alec desired it in the same ways as he did, anyway.

Biology class was a new found haven for the both of them as they realized; their spot at the far left corner at the back of the room was the absolute perfect spot to be discrete about things without any lingering eyes. Therefore preventing questions from being raised and allowing the pleasure to touch one another... In the simplest and quite possibly—in the future Magnus hoped—the dirtiest of ways. So that is how they ended up in the position that they were in: Magnus' left hand roaming tenderly against the groove of Alec's spine, their knees forcefully brushing against one another under the confines of the hooded lab desk. Magnus smiled as he studied the frustrated lines on Alec's forehead, as they became more and more prominent while they continued to do their work on chromosomes.

"Stop staring at me." Alec threw Magnus a strong glare as he anxiously fiddled with the pencil in his hand; a absent minded quirk Magnus instantly caught on to when Alec was even mildly frustrated. Somehow Alec deemed to have the most quirks Magnus had ever seen on a person before. The way he bit his lip nervously; the way he furrowed his eyebrows tightly together in concentration; the way he rubbed the back of his neck when biting his lip wouldn't suffice; the way he flexed his fingers out when he was confused; and now the way he fiddled with his pencil between his fingers, in frustration.

"You like it," Magnus winked and scraped his fingers over the small of Alec's back—a shiver running fast down Alec's spine.

"No I don't." Alec said dismissively, sighed again, and then placed his pencil upon his coil scribbler—closing it and shoving it away haphazardly. He swung around in his seat to face Magnus—Magnus' hand slipped away from under Alec's shirt, much to his dismay. "What are we doing today?" Alec was quick to change the subject, his eyes shinning with color.

"What would you like to do, lovely? Take another trip down to old man Penhallow's?" Magnus put forward for consideration. Possibly they could pick up what they had been doing the previous day.

"No—" Alec cut in sharply, blushing; his cheeks bathed in a deep red hue. It was very endearing to Magnus, that he could pull that demanding flush from Alec within mere seconds. "—I mean, I—I, don't want to almost get caught again." Alec offered a small half-hearted smile and shrugged his shoulders up.

"How about my house?" Magnus suggested with a seductive smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. Alec made to protest, but Magnus interrupted him before he could do so. "Lovely, there's no need to worry about getting caught there. My father won't be home until late. And Sarah and Olive are making their rounds downtown for awhile." Alec knit his eyebrows together slightly in close thought, biting down on the right corner of his lip—causing a hot sweet tremor to shoot and scuttle its way across his nerves; spurring on his desires for Alec. Magnus might never admit to Alec how the things he did—as simple as his blush and the subtle lip bite—frustrated Magnus in a terribly disastrous sexual way.

"Yeah, okay, that sounds good." Alec replied and turned back to face the front of the room in his seat. Magnus instantly returned his hand to Alec's back, trailing it up and under his shirt covertly; snaking his cold finger tips over Alec's heated flesh. They continued to do their Biology work on chromosomes in partial silence; finishing their work in no time with help from one another here and there. As the last bell rang, both made their way to their respected lockers—which happened to be on fairly opposite sides of the Academy. They met up outside on the large wide steps which lead up to the towering double doors leading into the schools front hall. They made minimal contact as they stood there, keeping a fair distance away from each other; as they had a few moments to talk to others. Alec was texting someone shortly—probably Jace or Isabelle, not doubt, to tell them he wouldn't be home for awhile.

Magnus spotted a shock of silver and black from the corner of his eye, walking in the direction of where Alec and Magnus stood. James and William snaked their way through the flood of people; both seemingly in a deep conversation with one another, leaning in close like that of long-time best friends. "Oh, hey." William said as he spotted Magnus, their eyes connected for a brief flash of a moment before William's gaze landed on Alec. It was then, in that moment, that again Magnus was reminded of the initial plan he had agreed to with William. Beforehand, it had completely slipped his mind. Magnus still didn't understand what the full extent of the plan was—or why it was brought up in the first place to begin with—in which he desperately wanted to know.

A sick feeling of dread dropped in the pit of his stomach. Looking at his blue eyed boy, brought Magnus to the realization of his own weakness; to give in to something so testy and or inevitably disastrous. He knew nothing good would come of this, but yet he didn't have the pure strength within himself to stop it. Because, on the inside, Magnus _was _weak, he _was _fragile; but only the mind after a substantial amount of time could tell him otherwise.

He could handle everything—he was _going _to. He felt capable enough to do so, but at the same time he had his doubts. "Alec," James beamed; a bright smile lighting up his face. His voice brought Magnus back to the present and away from his muddled mind. "I suppose Magnus has told you the plans for next week-end right?"

"Yeep, he has." Alec glanced over to Magnus for a quick second before returning his lake blue eyes to focus on James. Magnus could faintly tell by the almost unnoticeable tension within Alec's back and arms, that he wasn't comfortable being in the presence of William at all; that was already a given however. But he did stand his ground well; not giving into the leering glare William was throwing his way. Magnus hated that for some reason his best friend, William, had some unknown opium towards his blue eyed boy—a sort of maliciousness that Magnus couldn't touch base upon.

"Do you want to drive down with me and Tessa?" James asked, in which Alec smiled and nodded his head—complying easily. "And this time did you want to drive? I know you wanted to last time—"

"No! I, uhh, no. I—It's... Fine. I—" Alec stopped short. His chest was rising in an irregular rhythm and his eyebrows pinched dangerously together as his lower lip trembled in a sort of anxious way. Magnus looked towards him questioningly, raising his left eyebrow high upon his forehead. Magnus hadn't seen this type of reaction from Alec yet, and to be quite frank he literally felt the deep hidden anxiety rush from Alec in harsh beating waves. He didn't like it at all.

"Sorry Jem, if you don't mind, Alexander and I have previous... Arrangements to attend to." William shot Magnus a knowing look—very subtle and quick. Magnus dared to step that much closer to Alec. He was within reaching distance and that proved to be too much for either of them. He saw, with satisfaction, Alec's fingers reflexively reach out for him—but he stilled himself before it became obvious to James and William what he was about to do.

"Oh, don't mind us—we were headed down to Idris anyways." James turned to regard William, who was a stark contrast to himself. James was all light and silver, while William was dark and brooding. "We should head out now before it gets to late." James reached behind himself, into the back pocket of his light blue jeans revealing the keys to his vintage buggy.

"We'll talk to you later Magnus," William nodded his head with a cheap smile on his face and took a hold of James elbow—lightly—guiding him over to the parking lot. They fell out of site instantly as the swarm of students seemed to manifest and grow all around them. Magnus gestured with a tilt of his head for Alec to follow him over to the far right side of the parking lot, where his beautiful car was parked. Instead of the sun glinting off of the surface in harsh gleams, like it had done that morning; there was no sun in sight—and instead the sky was a deep somber grey, no blue in sight.

Alec and Magnus settled themselves into his car and quickly Magnus took to the streets, winding in and out of the new downtown district, turning off onto the hill tops which led to his estate. "What was that about back there?" Magnus questioned after minutes of comfortable silence.

"What was _what_ about?" Alec asked hesitantly.

"When Jem asked you to drive—you just...Just..." Magnus trailed off, attempting to collect his thoughts and form a reasonable argument.

"I just... _What_?" Alec asked a bit more forcefully this time. Even with Magnus' eyes focused on the road ahead, he could almost sense Alec's eyes trained on him.

"I don't know, lovely. _You _tell me." Magnus said pointedly as thick splatters of rain began to pour from the grey covered sky overhead; pounding on the glass window shield of his car. Alec didn't say anything presently after that, making Magnus more than anxious in the least. He snuck a quick peak over at Alec from the corner of his almond shaped eye and found Alec starring out the front window dejectedly; an impassive hard look to his features.

"I can't drive. That's all. Not a big deal." Alec supplied after a few more moments and shrugged.

"It seemed to me that it was a bigger deal than you let on to make me believe—"

"Just drop it, okay Magnus?" Alec said rather coldly; definitely uncharacteristic of Alec in Magnus' eyes. He didn't push it any further, because truth be told Alec never pushed Magnus readily into a touchy subject he didn't want to talk about. He was, however, disappointed that Alec didn't feel the need to share something that seemed to deeply trouble him. But in retrospect, Magnus didn't know if he would ever be ready to talk to Alec about his mother, Palmer. He couldn't talk to anyone about it really, possibly James, Sarah, Olive and William were the ones who got bits and pieces here and there—but to a certain extent.

The rain was falling hard now, its puttering against the window boomed loudly throughout the car. Sooner than later, Magnus pulled into the rounded off driveway of his estate—the manor house complemented the back drop of the sky greatly. They both darted from his car—the rain hitting their heads and backs—over to the over hang, hovering above the large sleek black front door, held up by the large pillars on either side.

Magnus fumbled with the front door lock—which seemed relentless in opening at the present moment. "We'll have to go around back. Come on, lovely." Magnus hiked up the collar on his blazer and kept close to the sides of the dark house; Alec following in his wake. Again he had difficulties with the lock to the backdoor as him and Alec stood outside in the menacing rain. Finally the door gave way with a garing sound. Alec and Magnus quickly creeped their way over the threshold and into the large dome shaped room that was adjoined to the back of Magnus' manor.

"Wow," Alec breathlessly whispered, shaking water from his hair, as Magnus shut the door firmly behind him. Alec's blue fervent eyes scanned over the large space; mainly because the walls were adorned with rows upon rows of rounded bookcases, that surrounded them, ending as high as the dome ceiling would let them. A single dark wood, substantially large, desk sat directly in the middle of the room—and the smallest amount of furniture concluded with two bright white chairs laid structurally beside a grey marble fireplace set back into one of the bookcases base.

Magnus starred at Alec, as his expression stayed trained on one of fascination. "It's sort of my fathers office—although you could call it his new home, seeing as he rarely does come out of it as of late." Magnus felt the need to justify the vastness of the space around them, but found himself lacking the inspiration to come up with a legitimate reason as to why two men and two house keepers needed a house as outlandish as this one was.

"Because of your mom?" Alec innocently asked, returning his eyes to Magnus'. His charcoal black hair was dripping with rain water; his shirt soaked through, sticking to the delicious planes of his body. Magnus watched him gulp back a huge lump of uncertainty, seeing as they never really moved further past the subject of his mother dying—always keeping things at a minimal discussion.

"What?"

"Your dad... He spends a lot of time here because of what happened to your mom, right?" Alec continued, peering deeply into Magnus' eyes—searching for something, anything that Magnus could give him. But yet, Magnus knew Alec would find nothing because at that present moment in time, Magnus was in a certain phase in which his mind was wiped; his emotions towards his mother were stolen from him in a way. That would change indefinitely over the next few days, but at the moment it simply couldn't.

"Sorry, we don't have to talk about it." Alec offered a small sheepish smile, his cheeks burning with color.

"Thank you." Magnus whispered lightly, grabbing Alec's hand in his own, interlocking their fingers together. The contrast of their skin had never surprised Magnus before now. Alec with his pale clammy hands and Magnus with his tawny cold hands. "Now come on, lets not waste our time standing in the middle of my fathers office." Magnus began to lead them throughout the house, around different hallways and curves. It really was a labyrinth in layout, one which Magnus would never fully solve.

"I'm kind of hungry..." Alec began, gripping Magnus' hand tighter in his own. "Show me the kitchen," he bellowed, then laughed playfully to himself.

"Sure thing, Alexander." Magnus directed them more so towards the front of the house where the kitchen was located just shy of the dining room. Mid-way, Magnus stopped abruptly yanking Alec back to himself in a rush of movements. Alec crushed into Magnus for a brief moment before regaining his footing. He tilted his head to the side and gave Magnus a sweet questioning dubious smirk. "Or if you'd like, I can show you to my room instead..." Magnus said huskily, "then afterwards, once we're up there, who knows... You might satisfy your hunger." Magnus winked seductively and yet at the same time, suggestively at Alec.

Alec's mouth dropped slack open for a moment, his eyes becoming wide with his apparent shock. "Isn't it a bit too early for sexual innuendos to be in place?"

"Who said that was supposed to be a sexual innuendo? My, my, _Alexander_. I didn't know you had such a wondrous dirty mind." Magnus laughed at the fire cracker red flush that formed on the apples of Alec's cheeks.

"You're the one who made the innuendo! Not me!" Alec semi-whined; attempting to suppress a smile of his own.

"Well then, _you _are the one who caught on to it. So, in that case, we are both in fault of having terribly dirty minds." Magnus started to pull Alec once again through the dark lowly lit hallways and into the equally as dark front foyer.

"Yeah, well you were being more than subtle about it..." Alec rolled his eyes teasingly, following Magnus' lead up the left side of the grand double staircase.

"Stop complaining. You know you like it, Alexander." Magnus purred and unclasped his hand from Alec's, wrapping it around Alec's waist—pulling him close to his body. Magnus snuck a quick chaste kiss in before they came upon his bedroom door.

"No, I don't—" Magnus cut Alec off again with a lingering kiss this time, turning to face his body while cupping his jaw in his hands; loving the feeling of Alec against him. He pushed the door to his room open with his foot while still managing to keep Alec locked against him in a tight embrace. Both of their shirts were soaked through; their hair dripping wet against their foreheads; and their shoes squeaking loudly against the hardwood floor. They stepped further into the room—and Magnus made sure to close the door behind them.

Magnus continued to leave long kisses on Alec's lips—the taste of cinnamon lacing his tongue. He started to walk Alec backwards to his bed and at the same time they both managed to kick off their shoes... And now, slowly but surely Magnus was raising Alec's shirt over his head—their lips disconnecting for a short moment—as Alec took to pushing Magnus' blazer down his arms and off his body. Shortly afterwards Magnus' undershirt was gone too, left discarded on his bedroom floor with their shoes and Alec's shirt as well. The back of Alec's knees connected with the edge of Magnus' high fluffy bed and he stumbled pulling Magnus down with him on top of the mess of white and canary yellow sheets and blankets.

Magnus divulged his tongue into Alec's mouth, taking complete control of the situation—hovering over top of Alec with their bare chests rubbing against one another and the sweet scent of rain water wafting through his nose. Alec suddenly grabbed Magnus' hips, hooking his fingers into the belt loops at the back of his pants; flipping him over so that now Alec was hovering over Magnus in all his glory. Alec straightened his back out, so that now he was sitting up; straddling Magnus' hips, placing his calloused warm clammy hands on top of Magnus' bare chest—adding slight pressure.

"For the record, I'm still hungry." Alec pointed out, but Magnus could barely pay any attention as his eyes wondered over Alec's tightly coiled and muscled spotless ivory chest. He licked his lips seductively.

"Well we can still fix that... Right... Now..." Magnus smirked. Alec rolled his eyes and leaned down close to the left side of Magnus' face—his breath tickling Magnus' ear.

"Again with the innuendo's Magnus." Alec kissed him lightly behind his ear and then bit down on his earlobe.

"You like it." Magnus placed his hands along Alec's back; scraping his nails slowly down his spine and then finally placing his hands upon Alec's butt—gripping it hard.

"And _again... _No I don't."

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><p><strong>AN: ****Oh gosh, I hope you all don't hate me now... Sorry about the week long wait! School and work have really gotten in the way. I'll do my best to manage my time a lot better though—I promise! Ahh these boys, they don't know how to stick to the rules that they set in place. But I guess it is reasonable, given the situation they are placed in (both finding someone who they just _want to be with all the time). _Yeah, there are little hiccups in their relationship, but really no relationship is perfect. Sexual innuendos are fun! And really this was a care free kind of chapter, with a bit of under-lay of the Palmer situation. Don't worry at some point they will open up to one another—it takes time for those things to happen. They can't just automatically trust each other right off the bat with deep emotional and or personal things. However, they have... I guess... Trusted each other with their bodies already. I'll leave the end of this chapter to your imagination! Also, if any of you have started to read City of Lost Souls yet, and you've read maybe the second chapter (i won't give any spoilers), but to those who have read that—_that_ is the type of Alec I am going for. One who is still shy, closed-off in a way, but comfortable around Magnus.**

**Without further ado, I would like to inform you guys that I will be posting the first chapter of 'Pillars of Sand' in the next couple of weeks. That fic won't be as regularly updated however... Because I do still plan on putting most of my time and effort into Castles Made of Sand. I just wanted to get my idea out there and see how it goes! Also, since you guys have waited so long for this chapter, I will give you a little snippet:**

_"How do you look the person you love in the eyes, and tell them you're ready to let go?"_

**Review! And tell me who you think that snippet it directed to and or who is saying it.**

**Amber,**


	31. Any Time at All

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY**

_**Any Time at All  
><strong>  
>"Don't you be sad, just call me tonight. Any time at all, any time at all, any time at all. All, you've gotta do<br>is call and I'll be there. If the sun has faded away, I'll try to make it shine, there is  
>nothing I won't do, If you need a shoulder to cry on<br>I hope it will be mine. Call me tonight,  
>and I'll come to you<em>_."_

* * *

><p>Alec lay there on top of canary yellow sheets—Magnus' favorite color he remembered—and a soft white comforter which was scrunched up around them; his chin rested easily upon Magnus' bare tawny chest as they continued to gaze at one another. His hair was finally dry, and consequently, curled and waved all around his head in random unruly patterns. Magnus had his left arm propped around and under Alec's bare back—placing his large hand on the subtle dip of Alec's hip bone; while the other hand made rounds of threading lightly throughout Alec's dark hair and swiping over the strip of skin just above Alec's left eyebrow—a calming gesture that Alec continued to get substantially familiar with.<p>

Magnus was whispering sweet nothings—or in Alec's opinion sweet _everythings—_to him; the house was otherwise blankly silent. Alec couldn't even begin to understand how he felt so comfortable around someone that he had only known for a little while; and definitely, considering Alec never pictured himself to be held by another person, it was all that much more a thrilling surreal moment for him. For all intents and purposes, both Magnus and Alec were still clad in their pants laying on top of the covers of Magnus' large bed—which was slightly damp and soaked through by the water from their pants—locked in a tightly knit embrace of legs and arms. They had gone just a slight bit further than what happened on the boat the day previous; everything was essentially the same situation, except this time the front button on Magnus' pants were undone, as well the zipper was pulled halfway down. That's when Alec froze in their passionate heated moment—he wasn't ready for _that _quite yet.

Alec could taste the sweet spearmint of Magnus' breath in the small space between them as he spoke. He fantasized about the fact that he could kiss Magnus anytime he wanted to, there, without hesitation of any kind. He felt as if Magnus' kisses were his to steal, whenever he so desired to. He had never felt that way about anyone else before; being with Magnus was different and Alec was beginning to enjoy _different. _Alec starred at Magnus in adoration as he began to recite a line from a work of fiction he had read recently. He seemed to always knit his dark eyebrows tightly together in concentration whenever he was attempting to remember something; his lips would turn up into a ghost of a smile; his yellow-green eyes blazed with color.

"_You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel—" _Alec cut him off suddenly by pressing his lips hard to Magnus', stealing away his breath. It was just a simple kiss that didn't last any longer than a dozen heartbeats; but nevertheless it captured both of them. Alec pulled back and smiled faintly to himself. "What was that for?" Magnus asked, partially taken aback with a sweet grin on his face. "Didn't want to hear me speak anymore I take it?"

"No—I just... Felt like kissing you." Alec's face flushed softly with mild heat.

"Well," Magnus gazed down at him pointedly. "Do you feel like kissing me right now? Because, lord knows, I don't mind you doing that again." Magnus smirked deviously, the left corner of his lush lips turning up; his voice low and husky. Alec smiled brightly, while he bit his bottom lip nodding his head in compliance. Magnus shifted them slightly so he could hover over top of Alec, cupping Alec's jaw between his cold smooth hands. Magnus ducked his head down slowly and brushed his lips softly against the tip of Alec's nose, moving gently over to his cheek, and then finally his lips. Magnus settled more of his weight on top of Alec, his knees propped on either side of him so that Alec's body was positioned in between; while their chests were still pressed together; very bare. The heat of their skin blended together.

Everything was slow and collected—not like before when they took to ravishing each other. But yet, Alec's heart beat erratically against his rib cage, matching the feverish pace of Magnus' heart. Alec knew then, that no matter the circumstances, Magnus would always set his emotions on fire—a frenzy of emotions waving throughout him on uneven intervals. Alec settled his hands on Magnus' lower back, bringing his body even closer to Alec's, since the need of friction was increasing at a staggering rate. Without hesitation, Magnus slipped his tongue through the parting of Alec's lips and tangled it around Alec's tongue—tasting every inch of his mouth. _God, _Alec thought, _I've really been missing out._

Alec raised his hips up from the bed on impulse and rolled them seductively once, then twice against Magnus. He knew he wasn't ready at all for them to take it any further, so at the moment, dry humping—for a lack of better words—was definitely better than nothing. Magnus met Alec's motions with his own hips, but instead he grounded them down into Alec at the same moment Alec rolled up. Through the kissing Alec started to pant wildly, breathing erratically; barely being able to hold any form of composure against the heat between Magnus' and him. He felt a low groan bubble in the back of his throat, but just as the groan was threatening to spill over, Magnus pulled up sharply from Alec and smiled crookedly down at him—the groan turning into a growl of frustration.

"I'm going to go take a shower, lovely. Wait up for me." Magnus swung his leg from around Alec's body and made to get off of the bed; but as he did so Alec grabbed hastily onto his arm; keeping him semi-pinned to the bed.

"_What?" _Alec's breath was laboured. "You can't just leave me here so soon... Like _this_..." Alec blushed and pursed his lips tightly together.

"Like what Alexander?" The look on Magnus' face confirmed to Alec that Magnus knew exactly what Alec was talking about, but was defiantly attempting to get Alec to admit it out loud.

"Aroused!"

"Blunt much?" Magnus laughed and leaned his head down, quickly stealing a chaste kiss from Alec, in which Alec wanted it to be so much longer. Magnus stepped onto the hardwood floor of his bedroom, and stood there beside his high bed gazing down at Alec with bright livid eyes. Alec propped himself up on his elbows and took in Magnus' appearance for the thousandth time that day. His skin; smooth, tawny and oh so run-your-fingers-over-me looking. The deep 'V' connecting with his hips trailed down predominantly to Magnus' grey ashy pants which rested low on his hips, the button popped open. Alec could tell that Magnus felt just as strained as he had felt in that moment, by the slight bulge in the front of his pants. Alec hastily looked back up at Magnus' face, embarrassed, and found Magnus to be smirking widely.

"See something you like?" Magnus teased with a daunting tone of voice.

"Go have your shower." Alec muttered, flipping himself over on top of Magnus' bed, shoving his face into the soft plush pillows. Magnus laughed a throaty laugh and came over, closer to the side of the bed, to dance his finger tips lightly along the curve of Alec's back. The sensation was that of feathers being brushed lightly over top of his skin, causing him to shiver.

"I know you wouldn't want to take it further Alexander, and right now I need a way to relieve myself before it's too late." Magnus lightly chuckled again, and the hand that was trailing over Alec's back, stilled. "Unless... You're still hungry..."

"Go have your shower, Magnus." Alec said into the pillow. His voice muffled and strained. He felt every part of his body heat up at the implication; his heart puttering in his chest in irregular speeds.

"Will do lovely." Magnus bent down and kissed the space in between Alec's shoulder blades. Alec listened to Magnus' foot steps retreat across the room, and he heard the faint click of the french doors leading into his supposedly en-suite bathroom, open then close. Alec flipped over once more to stare up at Magnus' roof. The ceiling of his room was ominously vaulted, and crafted out of the same dark cherry wood panelling as the rest of the manor was. But somehow Magnus' room had a lighter, airier, feeling to it—not as dominating and threatening as the dark halls and turns of the rest of the manor was. To the far left of the room, Alec could see a electric teal colored vanity table with random pots of what he assumed to be make-up and glitter strewn across the surface; and a bright red chair pushed up beside it.

There was also a few articles of bright and waxy clothing scattered across the floor and hanging from the different pieces of furniture around Magnus' room, such as his dresser, the back of the red chair, and the door knob connecting to the french doors of his bathroom. Fresh puffs of steam began to scuttle underneath the doors of the bathroom, bathing the room in a fruity pungent scent. Alec breathed it in, relishing in the smell of Magnus, letting his eyes slip shut.

Suddenly without any sort of warning, Alec heard the strong click of a door opening and sat up to regard the bathroom. Except, it wasn't the bathroom door that had been opened; it was rather the door leading out into the hall from Magnus' bedroom. And to Alec's dismay—considering how foolish it would've been to think that Magnus would be standing there after a quick three minute shower—Sarah, the maid he had met when his family had went over for a sort of dinner party, was standing in the doorway regarding Alec with watchful brown eyes.

He looked down at himself, realizing again—although he didn't know how he could forget—that his shirt was off, his hair was strangely dishevelled, and the sheets around him were rumpled. "Uhh, H—Hi." Alec stuttered, his face setting instantly on fire. For a second she just watched him, as if she were in deep thought, muddling over things passing through her mind.

"Alec Lightwood!" Her expression changed, her voice chipper and light. "What a surprise seeing you 'ere." She smiled warmly, and stepped further into the room, carrying a few bags within her pudgy hands. Her voice was sweet, a slight southern ring to it. "Magnus' in there hey?" She tilted her head to the right, regarding the bathroom doors.

"Y—Yes, he, uhm, needed to take a shower, and I... I, was just waiting for him." Alec had a hard time making himself coherent, because really he didn't know what Sarah could be thinking at the moment, but he expected the worst. Her eyes trailed around the room, inspecting the shoes and shirts Magnus and Alec had taken off near the door to his room in their heated faze of making out—but of course she didn't know that—and then her deep brown eyes rested on Alec again, taking in his appearance slowly, but not jugful.

"I hope you two will clean up the sheets after whatever happened 'ere."

"WHAT?" Alec shouted, his mouth dropping open. "Nothing... Nothing happened. I promise," Alec added in a sigh, ducking his head down. "_Oh my god._" He said wistfully to himself as he took in a strong breath.

"You don't 'ave to lie to me boy. Just make sure to tell Magnus that I am not washing his sheets if they're... Like _that. _You teenagers can clean up after yourselves." Sarah shrugged and offered a small closed lipped smile.

"But it isn't like that! I don't know what you think happened here, ma'am, but really, it—it isn't like that—"

"Lovely, do you want to join me?" Magnus called from inside the bathroom, the water still beating down. And in that moment, Alec _definitely_ wanted to join Magnus, so he could strangle him, or punch him in the face. Whichever one would suffice his utter embarrassment would be fine with him.

"So now, do you want to go on and tell me that it isn't like that, boy?" Sarah smiled this time baring her pearly teeth. Alec sighed and dropped back down onto Magnus' bed. "Also, I would greatly appreciate it if when you come over that you two would keep it down, while you're up here. Deal?"

"I won't be coming over anymore. That's for sure." Alec muttered to himself, sighing once more. This was not happening. It was bad enough that Isabelle had known about them, but now Sarah knew—an adult who would undoubtedly inform Gerald, Magnus' father, of the matter. That sparked a worried surge within Alec and he hastily got up off of the bed to stand in front of Sarah. "Can you do me a favour, if I, er, promise that we won't, er, be loud?" Sarah nodded her head complying to him.

"Please don't tell anyone, about... Us."

"Son, I wouldn't go blabbing to anyone about this without the two of yous consent." She raised her hand to his cheek sweetly and gazed into his eyes with a sincere understanding look. The door to the bathroom opened suddenly, and Magnus stood there with a bright purple towel wrapped haphazardly around his waist—it looked as if it were about to slip off of his body any second—and his skin was still caked in a light sheen of fresh water; his hair damp and hanging in his eyes.

"Oh hello Sarah. I didn't think you'd be home so soon." Magnus said nonchalantly to Alec's surprise.

"I got you some more burn cream for your arms down at Basil's this time instead. I just came up to give it to you when I walked in on Alec 'ere..."

"Yes..." Magnus quirked his left eyebrow slightly.

"And I was just telling him that whenever I'm home, I would like for the two of yous to keep it down up 'ere." Magnus burst out laughing, clutching at both his stomach and the towel wrapped around his waist; much to Alec's disliking. Alec bore his eyes into Magnus, showing him his utter frustration with the situation.

"Oh, Alexander," Magnus smiled and grabbed his chin between his hands and kissed him, all in a quick rush of movements, in front of Sarah without any sign of holding back. "Lighten up a little." Alec rolled his eyes and knew his face was flushed again. They were both starring into each others eyes, and for a second Alec faintly forgot about Sarah standing there, until she let out a short curt giggle and or squeal. They both turned their heads to regard her, both looking upon her with wonder. Magnus still held Alec's face between his large hands and didn't make any motion to let go.

"I knew that you liked him, since the first day of school when you came home and told me about him. I just can't believe I was actually right." Sarah beamed and Alec laughed to himself.

"You told her about me on the first day?" His mood was lifted by that.

"Mhm, you seemed to be the only thing on my mind that day..." Magnus trailed off, as if he were deep in thought about something. There was a worry line that made its way between Magnus' eyebrows—so faint, that it surprised Alec himself that he had noticed it. The color in Magnus' eyes toned down a little, like a candle flickering to nothing at night. A slight vibration rocked against the hardwood floor, and as they all turned to regard the source, Alec realized it was his phone. He quickly shuffled around the room looking for his phone, that he still thought was somehow in the pocket of his jeans, but was laying next to the bed on the ground.

"Hello?" He picked up his phone hastily without checking who had called.

"Hey, Alec," Isabelle replied. "Mom and Dad just got in, and they're wondering where you are..."

"I'll be home soon. Just tell them I had something to do at school," Alec let his phone rest between his ear and his shoulder as he began to pull on his shoes.

"Sure thing. See you soon." She hung up and Alec returned his phone to the front pocket of his jeans. Alec raised his head to Magnus as he picked up his dark blue-green shirt from the floor.

"I have to go." He indicated to the door.

"Do you need a ride, lovely?" Magnus asked, making his way over to his dresser to reveal a crisp deep indigo, slightly glitter-littered shirt, and dark black conforming jeans.

"Yes, if," Alec pulled his shirt over his head, rumpling his hair, "you don't mind." Magnus returned to his bathroom and quickly changed into the clothes he had pulled out of his dresser. Sarah placed the burn cream she had mentioned on top of his electric teal vanity, shaking her head briefly at the mess of make-up pots strewn over the top; then left the room with a sweet simple goodbye to Alec. Within a few more minutes Magnus reappeared from the bathroom, dressed and partially ready to go. His hair wasn't done up, as well he didn't put any make-up on, but that was mainly for the reason that Alec had to be home.

It took a mere five minutes for Magnus to drive to Alec's house on the hill tops, and he made sure to park over at the edge of the driveway where they were hidden by the lush trees overhead. Rather quickly they said their goodbyes to one another, taking a rather long lingering kiss, before Alec bounded out of the car and down his driveway, cutting across the grass part way, to the front door. The sky was still a hazy dreadful grey, but luckily by now it ceased to rain. He rushed inside, his cheeks flustered with heat and nearly ran into Maryse, his mother, who was carrying a pitcher full of orange juice.

"Alec honey, watch where you're going." His mother had a sort of unfamiliar glow to her; her tone of voice happy and light. "Will you go into the kitchen and help Isabelle with the dishes? We're going to eat in the dining room tonight." He was surprised that she didn't rattled him with questions about where he had been.

"Oh... Okay." Alec said, and made his way over to the kitchen. Isabelle was standing on the tips of her toes, reaching for a serving dish high on one of the top shelves inside a cabinet over by the sink. Alec came up behind her, and with ease brought the dish down.

"You were at Magnus', weren't you?" Isabelle sauntered her way around the island counter in the middle of the kitchen, and leaned her elbows on the top, regarding Alec with watchful eyes. Of course, knowing Isabelle, Alec was now left to retrieve all of the dishes by himself.

"Yeah... So?" Alec asked, giving her a quizzical look as he sifted through another cabinet.

"Did you guys have sex?" Isabelle asked bluntly a sly smirk playing at her lips as she fiddled with her nails.

"IZ!" Alec shouted and nearly dropped a stack of plates that he pulled out of a different cupboard overhead.

"What? Is that a yes?" She raised her eyebrows as her smirk continued to grow.

"NO!" Alec shouted loudly, giving her an exasperated look.

"You guys were getting pretty hot and heavy in the hallway yenno. I have a right to assume that behind closed doors it gets even better." She winked at him. Her long, thick, dark eyelashes sputtering out across her pale cheekbones.

"Well stop assuming—because we didn't have sex." Alec said through gritted teeth.

"But you want to." She wiggled her perfectly arched eyebrows suggestively.

"Iz, I am not talking to you about this. Go away." Alec stretched his arm out to the side and pointed to the archway attached to the kitchen which lead out into the front hallway.

"Aweeh c'mon." Isabelle playfully whined taking a step closer around the side of the island towards him. "Is he a good kisser at least—?"

"Yeah..." Alec replied dubiously.

"—Down there...?"

"IZZY! Stop it!"

"Woah what's with the screaming in here?" Jace's voice flooded through the room from the doorway behind Alec. Isabelle glanced around Alec's body, tilting her head to the side—her long wavy black tresses of hair slipping over her shoulder—giving Jace a passive lithe grin.

"Oh nothing, just teasing Alec here." She glanced up from under her thick dark eyelashes, returning her gaze to Alec. "And he's having a hard time staying collected." She shrugged and placed her glossed hands defiantly on the swells of her hips. "Another reason why I think I know _exactly _what went on with you and—"

"—Wait—" Jace cut in seconds before Alec could muster a retort of his own to her accusations. "Is this about that girl you were out with yesterday?" Jace walked further into the room, dressed in a simple baggy black tank top and blue jeans cuffed at the end. Again, like any other day, Jace was all gold and angels; the coils of muscle in his arms: strong and predominant; the large expanse and curve of his shoulders and back gave the appearance that angel wings could sprout out any second. Likewise his skin was sun kissed, as well as his hair. But somehow, the image of Jace didn't spark Alec's interests anymore. There may have been a small buzz in the back of his mind, but otherwise it was unnoticeable now. "Did Alec finally get a piece?"

"What made you think I was a virgin before?" Alec threw him an exasperated look, growling lightly under his breath.

"Well you were... Weren't you?" Jace shrugged.

"That's not the point." Isabelle hoisted herself up onto the cool marble island counter top with ease. Her long dancer legs hanging wistfully over the edge. "The point is, dear Alec here is being rather persistent in hiding the truth."

"Isabelle, I'm not kidding. Pl—" Alec chocked briefly on his words. "Please, drop it." Alec gave her a shameful pointed look. He was hoping he conveyed the message to her, as to not speak about this in front of Jace. Seeing as Jace had no idea that Alec was with Magnus, let alone the fact that he wasn't aware that Alec was gay in the least. Isabelle got the hint, thankfully, noticing the look in her brothers eyes and shrugged herself off the counter top. She picked up the large serving dish that Alec had originally helped her retrieve and left the room to join their parents in the formal dining space. Alec watched her leave, wondering to himself, why Isabelle was defiantly trying to hint to Jace that something was going on. Had he not asked her mere days ago to keep things to herself? To help him keep everything a secret from others?

"C'mon, I want to get in there before dad eats all the lasagna." Jace nudged Alec in the arm lightly and turned to leave, thinking Alec would be hot on his trails. When Alec made no motion to move—being overly consumed with his thoughts; clenching and unclenching his hands wistfully—Jace faced him and squared his expression. "Hey... Are you... Are you okay?" Jace wasn't teasing, like he usually was, but rather he gazed upon Alec with a mixture of concern and questioning. Alec hadn't realized it yet, but in those moments that he was clenching his hands together he accidentally dug into the fragile skin of his palms; small trickles of blood dotting out of small half crescent moons.

"Yeah, no I'm fine. Go on, I'll be there in a second." Alec turned his back on Jace, hoping—rather praying—to god that Jace wouldn't see it fit to press Alec at all. Despite Alec's usual bad luck, Jace reluctantly left the room, and Alec let the breath he had bottled up, out in a long sigh. Could he trust anyone with the information and or idea of him and Magnus being together? Could he truly rely on anyone to help him? Isabelle, his own sister, seemed unwilling in keeping his wishes. How was he supposed to go on day to day and do this alone? How could he get through all of this by himself, worrying about confiding in those who he should have been able to thrust his full undivided trust upon? Because truthfully, Alec needed someone there for him—despite how adveresed he was in sharing the truth of him and Magnus being together. Magnus. Magnus. Magnus.

Alec looked down at his hands which were now readily shaking from his thoughts. It was a trembling he couldn't seem to break no matter how hard he concentrated his mind on doing so. How could he forget that he had Magnus there to share in his worries along the way?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I felt too bad if I didn't include a bit of what went on, on that bed. You might have missed out on the lead up to them relaxing on the bed afterwards, but I hope what I included in this satisfies you! Gosh, wouldn't you feel embarrassed/angry that people kept finding out about your supposedly secret relationship? I know I would! Especially given the circumstances. But don't worry, Magnus and Alec will learn to be a lot more careful for sure. Sarah's awesome though and c'mon she basically gave them a free pass to have sex in the house. Isabelle... Well, I don't have much to say there. You will find out her reasoning behind the things she is doing later on—I know she may seem horrible for putting Alec in a difficult position with Jace, seeing as she knows one thing and he thinks another, but just keep in mind that she does things for a reason to protect her brother in a way. (I shouldn't be divulging this much to you guys... lol). Alec had his moment of weakness at the end and man oh man, it kind of gave me chills while writing how his hands were shaking. (I don't know why). By the way, the quote Magnus recited was from the book Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma!**

**Review pretty please! Let's get it to 470 (:?**

**Amber,**


	32. If I Fell

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY ONE**

_**If I Fell  
><strong>  
>"Would you promise to be true? And help me understand? 'Cause I've been in love before,<br>And I found that love was more, than just holding hands, if I  
>give me heart to you, I must be sure<em>_."_

* * *

><p>"Jem, Jem, Jem." Magnus shook his head from side to side, suppressing the smile on his face. "That was <em>so <em>long ago. Are you really going to bring that up now?"

"Yes. Yes I am. You still owe me for that by the way. And I'll hold that over your head forever Magnus Bane. Mark my words." James gazed up at him defiantly; but in contrast his face was tainted by a large smile encompassing his soft features. Magnus placed his hand on top of James willowy thin shoulder blade and leaned down slightly to whisper a faint _'no'_ in his ear. They both sat there on the short riser stairs of the music room—James one step lower than Magnus—talking about random nonsense and past memories shared between the two. James had his ethereal violin set out upon his thin, dark blue jean clad legs. His cheeks were flushed with a healthy pink color, his silvery hair again—like it usually was—turned up to one side as if wind blown. The small amount of students in the band class around them flooded in a crescent shape around James and Magnus; staying at a _'safe'_ enough distance, while passing looks and whispers between themselves.

Truth be told, Magnus and James stuck out like a sore thumb in a class like that; even if their music class had been composed of the same students for the past two years—due to the shortage of students actually opting out for music class. Magnus was all color, glitter, and designer; and James with his angelic soft features and equally as expensive clothes, didn't sit too well with some of the other students who were there on scholarship. Magnus and James were 'The Shadows' to many people within their school; having two Shadows in one lower leisure class was very unheard of and or rare. People judged them, mainly in a prejudice way, saying that the richer kids who lived on top of the hills had everything handed to them and that they didn't have to work for anything at all. In some ways that was true, but in other ways it bothered Magnus like an incessant itch that wouldn't go away.

Mrs. Morgenstern/Fairchild sat at the front of the room, off to the side, behind her desk holding up a stack of snow white music sheets in front of her face. Her fiery hair was pulled back into a messy painters bun upon her head and she wore thin gold rimmed reading glasses. To the untrained eye, anyone in that class wouldn't have noticed the fading yellow bruises around her tiny wrists; but Magnus wasn't just anyone.

"Okay, Magnus why don't you and Charlotte perform your assignment together today." Mrs. Morgenstern/Fairchild spoke up and indicated with a tilt of her head to the sleek black piano on the far side of the room. Magnus rolled his eyes and gave her a playfully tempting look before he made to grab the piano sheet music and lyrics, that he had written previous, out of the confines of his Marc Jacobs bag.

"You should sing it," James leaned back and winked from his spot.

"Oh god Jem, I can't sing for the life of me." Magnus whispered back before he stood up and sauntered his way over to the piano. Charlotte, a short girl with lustrous brown hair, and dark brown eyes—once upon a time a close friend of Magnus'—followed him over to the piano. She was dressed in a simple ensemble which was composed of a red polo shirt and a cute plaid light brown, white, and gold skirt. "Are you good, with the harmony dear? I know we haven't practised since late August or anything—"

"Yes, Magnus. Go get on that piano so we can get this over with." She offered a small sheepish smile. She was straight forward, curt, but yet hesitant with her words, almost as if she regretted saying them once they were out. She was doubtful of herself, Magnus knew that much, but he always thought that if there was someone completely there for her to break forth and shatter that doubtful state of mind she obtained, that she would be able to accomplish many brilliant things—have her voice heard. But nevertheless, Magnus intimidated her; he would have thought by now she would have warmed up to him a bit more. Considering that they were once friends... Then again, that might have been the very reason _why _she got nervous around him. He knew her like the inside of a glove.

Magnus handed her the lyrics to the song he had hastily scrawled on the inside of his black journal a few weeks prior to the beginning of school. That was where he kept all of his songs that he wrote; the same journal Alec had asked him of on their first day of Biology together. He sat down in front of the piano, playing a few chords to tune it to _his_ perfection before setting his sheet music out. He had to admit that the keys weren't at all the most difficult thing he had ever played before, but they sufficed nicely to the way he intended the song to sound. Charlotte stood in front of the class and took a few calming deep breaths in. She gazed back at Magnus and indicated with a nod of her head that she was ready for this, and then in that moment Magnus took to the piano keys as if it were his first nature.

_( A/N: I suggest you all listen to Turning Tables By Adele. I like the piano in that song!)_

He started out the first three chords of the song before her melodic voice cut in. _"Close enough to start a war..."  
><em>  
><em>"All that I have... is on the floor."<br>_  
><em>"God only knows what we're fighting for..."<em>

_"All that I say, you always say more."_

Magnus began to press harder onto the ebony and ivory keys; loving the feeling beneath his fingers. This was what his hands were made to do; he believed in that ever since his mother told him that when he was six. And he would continue to believe in it forever more. The sound of the piano engulfed him; trapping him in a hazy state of mind. When he was at home, playing away on the piano until ungodly hours in the night, he usually let the rest of the world slip away; sometimes slowly and other times as fast as a blink of an eye.

_"I can't keep up with your turning tables, Under your thumb... I can't breathe..." _Charlotte hit the tones perfectly, drawing out every word in the way Magnus had intended them to be.

_"So I won't let you close enough to hurt me, no, I won't ask you, you to just desert me."_

_"I can't give you—what you think you give me."_

_"It's time to say goodbye... To turning tables. Turning tables," _she fluttered her tone at the end. Soft and enduring; but powerful at the same time. Magnus glanced out into the room, meeting the gaze of the many expectant classmates. James looked to him in awe, knowing that this song probably struck home for Magnus in some way—pulling on a fragile teetering cord. Magnus quickly diverted his gaze back to the music notes in front of him, that had begun to take on a blurry affect.

_"Under haunted skies I see you, OooOo,"_

_"Where love is lost, your ghost is found." _Magnus gulped harshly._ "I braved a hundred storms to—leave you..."_

_"As hard as you try—no I will never be knocked down." _Charlotte led into the next lines gracefully_. "I can't keep up with your turning tables... Under your thumb, I can't breathe—"_

_"So I won't let you, close enough to hurt me... No I won't ask you, you to just desert me... I can't give you—what you think you give me... It's time to say goodbye... To turning tables. Turning tables." _Magnus was taking shallow breaths, making it hard for him to get a good grip on hitting the keys perfectly.  
><em><br>"Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own savior—when, the thunder calls me."_

_"Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own savior—standing on my own two feet."_

Magnus felt a sudden anguish wave through his body; an anguish which brought on a cold depressing feeling. No, he wouldn't let himself break down right now. It wasn't the right time, it wasn't the right place. He couldn't do that to himself. _Stay strong. Don't do it Magnus. _Those words played like a mantra in his head over and over as he continued to hit keys after keys, his muscles tensing in his arms... But somehow his body and soul weren't believing any of it. _"I won't let you close enough to hurt me, no I won't—"_

And just like that Magnus stopped his ministrations on the piano keys, causing Charlotte to stop singing mid-sentence. Magnus picked up his sheet music and just as hastily grabbed the lyric sheet out of Charlotte's hands much to her suprise—as well as everyone elses—and without a glance back he reached down for his bag on the riser next to James, latched it over his shoulder, shoved the white sheets of paper into the back pocket of his jeans and stormed out of the room. The whole time he had been holding his breath, and he didn't realize it until he got halfway down the hallway, where he had to stop. He leaned back against the brick wall, letting his eyes fall shut as a strong gasp shuttered throughout his body. He raised his hand to his chest, grabbing forcefully on the fabric of his bright shirt at the front; knotting his fingers into a ball around it.

He felt a weight on his chest that was persistent on reeling in on his energy—sucking the hopefulness completely out of him. This was too soon, he didn't expect to feel like this. His breaths seemed laboured, unsteady, and unrelenting to change. Sharp gasps of air flooded throughout his lungs—stretching him to the brink of explosion one moment, and suffocating him the next. Magnus couldn't get his heart beat to settle down; nothing could help him in this instance of weakness. Nothing at all—

"Magnus?" A voice made of silk called from a short distance away. Magnus cringed slightly, feeling a pang of regret suddenly flow through his hot tempered veins like fast moving water. He opened his eyes slowly to find Alec walking towards him, just a ways away, a sort of curve in his step that Magnus hadn't noticed before until now. Just watching Alec walk hesitantly over to him—wearing a fresh black button up shirt rolled up to his elbows, over top of a pair of dark blue jeans; his hair dishevelled as always; his pale ivory cheeks flushed with color—made Magnus' heart beat break into a steady calm. "Magnus are you alright?"

Alec stood in front of him now raising his hands to Magnus' face, cupping his jaw line between his clammy hands. Alec's lake blue eyes were feverish in color and shifted hastily all over Magnus' face—mainly searching his eyes—in a silent questioning manner. Magnus felt another sharp hit to his body, this time by how caring Alec was already for him; because at the back of his mind the idea—that would never go away—that their friendship—relationship—was brought up on wrong terms, tore into him, digging a deep gash within him. Terms which no one would willingly agree to. How could Magnus ever forgive himself for that? And how did his emotions suddenly shift focus over to Alec? He just prayed that over time the thought of their beginning would lessen and that Alec would never find out.

"Yes Alexander, I'm fine." Magnus ducked his head towards Alec and kissed him lightly; their lips brushing briefly. It was nice kissing Alec; it made Magnus feel lighter than air, as if he were floating in a beautiful abyss of worry-less days and nights. "I just had to get out of my class. People were bothering me. You know how it is." Magnus waved it off, hoping to show indifference to the situation Alec had found him in. He made sure not to mention the fact that he had just came from music class. The fact that he played the piano really was still a secretive part of his life, one in which he didn't like to share at all, because it connected himself to his mother so readily. James, Mrs. Morgenstern and Charlotte were really the only people who were close to him—who had been close to him—that he let in on that part of his life. It was much harder for Magnus to let anyone else in.

Alec dropped his hands from Magnus' face and took a small step back; but somehow to Magnus that gesture spoke hushed words, and it felt more so as if Alec had dug a short trench between them. "Don't lie to me Magnus." Alec looked down to the ground, regarding his feet.

"I'm not lieing—"

"Yes you are, Magnus. You can trust me, can't you?" Alec glanced up for a second, the color dropped from his eyes, giving him the look of a somber mood. "You _do _trust me right?" He dropped his gaze back to the floor.

"Alexander you wouldn't understand..." Magnus trailed off his voice ending in a dull whisper. How could he stand there in front of the one person he fully wanted to let in, and lie to him? If Magnus was to ever admit it out loud, he definitely liked having Alec as a sort of new constant in his life, and somehow he had a feeling that Alec would always be there. Now, if that was hopeful wishing, he didn't know.

"Then help me understand! I—I want to be there for you Magnus, with whatever makes you upset." Alec looked up again, this time locking his gaze with Magnus'; holding his eyes firmly. "Just a second ago you looked like you were having a panic attack. That honestly couldn't be because of a few people in your class annoying you—"

"My mother. It's about my mother." Magnus blurted out, despite himself. The words just fell out of him like some sort of word vomit. Alec took a hesitant step forward his hand reaching outwards for Magnus and as his hand clasped around Magnus', their fingers intertwining together; Magnus flinched and averted his eyes anywhere but Alec. "But it's fine," Magnus whispered, almost too silent for Alec to hear. "I'm fine." He said it as if he were trying to convince himself of the same thing—but he would never admit that out loud.

"It's fine if you aren't. Okay?" Alec crooked his left pointer finger underneath of Magnus chin and tilted his head up, forcing Magnus to look into his eyes. "You can't be strong all the time, Magnus. Life doesn't work like that. We all have our moments of weakness and that isn't something we—you can run from."

"I've been doing fairly well in running for the last seven years Alexander." Magnus replied with a disheartening smile that certainly did not meet his eyes. He could make it until Saturday. He knew he was strong enough to do so; but really in some sort of way it just wasn't clicking in his head at the present moment.

"Do you w—want to talk about it?" Alec hesitated with his words, still keeping a firm grasp of Magnus' hand in his own.

"God no." Magnus instantly replied, letting out a long sigh. Alec cocked his eyebrow quizzically on his forehead. "I mean, not right now... At least? Just... Bear with me okay, Alexander? I'm not usually so forward with this topic." Magnus was finally calm by now, his chest rising and falling evenly, matching the pace of Alec's; his heart pace wasn't threatening to cascade overload and break forth from his chest. He had Alec to thank for that really. Even if Alec would take away from this little situation that he hadn't actually helped Magnus talk through things; Alec quite possibly wouldn't be able to understand that he did a lot more than just calm his nerves. He gave Magnus a sense of hope that at least some time soon he would have someone to go to, that would be able to hold him as intimately and tenderly as he needed to be held.

Lord knows, Magnus could go to James and William, Olive and Sarah, even his father about the troubles he was having about his mother. But only Alec would be able to kiss away the hurt, dull the burn that would ache throughout his body. "I'll wait," Alec broke through Magnus' thoughts. "I'll wait as long, as you want me to." Magnus smiled down at him and let his eyes slip shut, bringing his lips to align with Alec's once again. The kiss was soft, somewhat refined—but Magnus wasn't complaining—and slow. It was as if they were trying to steal the breath out of one another in a slow paced taunting way. Magnus placed his hands on Alec's hips and brought his body closer; loving the feeling of Alec's hard, tall, lean, muscular body against his own.

Alec's hands threaded into his hair, tugging lightly on the free strips at the nape of Magnus' neck. Before long the kiss was over and Alec leaned his forehead against Magnus' regaining the breath that had been stolen out of his lungs. "I have to get back to—class," Alec said breathlessly, stepping away from Magnus. Magnus nodded his head and smirked, cherishing the bright red hue to his cheeks. Alec began to walk away in the opposite direction from where Magnus was standing, swinging his hips ever so slightly—mainly for Magnus' admiration, in his opinion. He was halfway down the hallway, leaving Magnus there—still propped up against the brick wall—before he abruptly stopped and turned around.

Magnus quirked his head to the side, wondering why Alec was looking at him with a nervous look on his face. "Do you have a date to homecoming tomorrow?" Alec asked, placing his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it up and down, then up again.

"No, I don't," Magnus called back to him with a devilish smirk on his face.

"Good. 'Cause now you've got one," Alec returned the smile, but heat still flooded his face.

"Who should I be looking out for?" Magnus challenged with a teasing tone.

"I'll be the one dressed in all black." Alec winked, and with that he turned around again and continued down the hallway to his class, not giving Magnus a second glance back. Magnus smiled brightly watching Alec leave. A moment later the bell rang throughout the hall, bouncing loudly off of the walls. Students stepped out of their classrooms, instantly flooding the space around him.

"Magnus," James caught Magnus by his elbow and pulled him over to a secluded alcove set between a series of pristine lockers off to the side. "What happened back there? I couldn't leave, I'm sorry. I tried to but Jocelyn—"

"Jem, it's okay. I'm fine. I just got a bit worked up with that song." Magnus shrugged and reached behind him into his back pocket, pulling out the now crumpled up piano notes and lyrics. "You know how it is: A song artists' lyrics is a map to their soul. This one _definitely _shouldn't have been brought into class. I don't know what I was thinking..."

"If it is worth anything, it really was a beautiful song Magnus." James offered stepping away from the alcove, indicating with a tilt of his head for Magnus to follow in his steps. "You scared me though, I have to admit. I noticed the strain in your arms when you were pressing down on the keys up until that moment you bolted right out of there."

"Yeah, I sort of... Cracked would you say? Back there. Nothing to worry your pretty head over _James. _I should probably go apologize to Charlotte? Or," Magnus scrunched his eyebrows together and regarded the ceiling for a second, stopping in the middle of the swarm of students; people all around them, dodging them haphazardly. "That can wait for another day can't it?"

"It's up to you. Although I must say, I am quite hungry and I don't want to get _too _side tracked, that is, if you plan on apologizing to people today. In which, we won't be out of here till the crack of twilight, if you decide to do so." James laughed, nudging Magnus forward with his thin shoulder.

"Funny James. And who pray tell is the one taking _you _out for lunch today?"

"I could always take my own car Magnus. Or I could get Gideon to drive me, or Simon, or—"

"Oh just come on." Magnus rolled his eyes and started to walk at a fast pace through the lightened halls to the front door. There, William was standing against a solid pew, one arm slung across his chest to rest on the other while his other hand was held to his mouth, as he bit into a bright red apple.

"Man, I'm starving. What took you two so long? If I didn't know any better whatever class you two just came from, is down in that deserted wing over by the music room." James and Magnus shared a quick knowing look between them before focusing back on William.

"How did _you_ get here so early?" James asked as they pushed through the large front doors and into the sun lit afternoon air. William chucked his apple into the nearest trash can, over his shoulder and then continued to fix the sweeping of his hair; pushing it back from his forehead.

"I skipped second block and went down to the boat docks with Sebastian. Absolutely, one-hundred percent, _a huge mistake_." William shook his head in a feigning way, as if attempting to expel thoughts from his mind.

"Why's that?" Magnus questioned as they came upon his car. James wavered around to the back left side and slid into the seat; William thumped his hands on the top of Magnus' blazing red car for a moment.

"Did you know ducks are blood thirsty little beasts?"

"Will... _What did you do?_"

"What did _I _do? How about what did _they _do?" William asked incredulously, opening his side door, slipping into the passenger seat. Magnus followed his actions and slammed his car door behind him. "I was merely trying to feed them a little bit of bread. The least they could have done was, I don't know, thank me or something."

"Will, ducks don't speak." James leaned forward from the backseat, placing his chin on the curve of the back of William's seat; regarding him with amused liquid silver eyes.

"No. I know that, but there was no need for the chasing... And _oh god, _all the feathers. I'm positive Sebastian is just as mortified as I am." William recollected, eliciting an energetic laugh from James.

"Jem, do you know where I think we should go out for lunch?" Magnus glanced over his shoulder at James, and wiggled his eyebrows. He could see from the corner of his eye William giving him a stern steely look with his deep blue eyes.

"Yes, Magnus. I do believe I know what you're thinking..." James dragged out for emphasis, William turned his eyes back to James and slightly scowled.

"To the boat docks!" Magnus shouted as he revved the engine twice before speeding off within the parking lot, edging his way around other cars and students in a very reckless manner.

"NO." William replied and smacked Magnus hard in the arm. James doubled over with laughing and fell to the side in the back seat, holding his stomach tightly within his delicate hands. It was an infectious laugh, loud and oh so James like. Even William couldn't resist the tiny smile that started to crawl up his face, pulling at the corners of his pink lips, his cheeks and the soft lines around his eyes. These moments were what Magnus lived for; being comfortable with his friends, talking and laughing about random things that happened in their daily lives. He needed this, more than wanted. Because even as they sped along the tar black streets laughing all together, slowly, ever so slowly, there was a gnawing sensation eroding away at Magnus' emotions. Taking pieces of his happiness day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.

But that was something Magnus would never admit to.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This chapter was all over the place, I admit :P Originally it was going to end after Alec left, but holy man that would have made it pretty short. And besides, I wanted to show even more interaction with Jem and Will! Because really, the secondary characters in this story are important as well (: I'm sorry for such a long wait—Truly! I don't know what has been holding me back so much, I sit there in class thinking up all these ideas, but somehow I just can't get it out and down on paper. But, this time I promise you guys I will update really really soon! I've got homecoming all planned out (: things will happen that night, things that you won't find out until a little later on even! It will be a long one (: Possibly almost as long as the dinner party chapter was! I had to add the ducks in there as well, I was actually talking to Cassandra Clare today about Jace, Will's _and _Stephen's irrational fear of ducks and geese. The chapter after the next chapter (if that makes sense...) will be all about Palmer's death, and has quite a lot of moments between Gerald and Magnus. Tell me what you think happened to her in a review!**

**Review's are for people who like cookies!**

**Amber,**


	33. September In the Rain

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY TWO  
>HOMECOMING PART I<strong>

_**September In the Rain  
><strong>  
>"To every word, Of love I heard you whisper, The raindrops seems, To play a<br>sweet refrain. Thought it's spring, To me it's still September,  
>Oh that September in the rain<em>_."_

* * *

><p>There were a series of events and happenings that occurred that stormy night at Mount Western Prep. Private Academies homecoming dance. Course changing events which involved different groups of friends and couples of every other side, coming together in such a way that detoured the meaning of what was supposed to be a perfect night; but nevertheless it was definitely one to remember.<p>

For you see, there was a couple, a boy and a girl, who were somewhat careless and didn't use protection of any kind when they escaped into the night; and the occurrence that went on was bound to cause long-term trouble. On another end of the night, there was another two, this time a boy and a boy, evenly matched, who ended up throwing heated words and punches in a darkly lit hallway; far from any curious eyes. Then, there again, were two boys in which one boy wouldn't know where he stood anymore in regards with the other by the end of the night—into the early morning.

The booze would have been flowing in heavy streams and more than one person would have ended up dabbling in a few drinking games out back, that led to a girl being left alone in the rain. A chance kiss with the wrong person would bring up new difficulties. Someone would say _I love you_ at the crack of midnight, and whether that _'I love you'_ was reciprocated or not, we don't know quite yet. And then, there was someone who died.

But we'll get to that a bit later. Because what is suspense without the wait?

* * *

><p>Alec's heart was pounding fast, picking up subsequent speed as he drove his legs harder and faster against the freshly dewy green ground. His muscles ached, but burned in a pleasing way as the air around him seemed to sweep his hair back from face, leaving his sweat slicked forehead exposed. His eyes locked instantly on his target—the golden light—as he set up for what could possibly be tremendous if he played his cards right.<p>

He began to sprint, shifting the ball between his feet quickly—skillfully—as to not lose his footing. Jace came into a more clearer image in front of him, his hands warded out to his sides to defend the impending attack Alec was about to lay on him. Alec grinned brightly noting faintly in his speed driven haze that Jace's weak spot was dodging to the left and down—a spot that was completely wide open. Once again he picked up his pace, even if the strong muscles in his legs were crying out in exhaustion; he pushed through it all. As well, disregarding the ache within his lungs, as he came upon Jace he faked to the left, twisted the ball between his feet kicking it up and above his head then skillfully, before it came down upon the ground, Alec manoeuvred his body so his back was facing Jace, and in a rush a movements he brought his left leg up—his stronger leg—and kicked backwards at the ball; landing on his back on the grass with a loud thud.

He quickly turned his head to detect where the ball had gone, and sure enough it had escaped Jace's evasive nature, gliding into the make-shift net behind him, down and a little to the left. Jace had skidded along the ground attempting to make a pass at the ball, and now the left side of his soccer shorts and white shirt were smeared with green and brown from the ground. Alec laughed—or more so wheezed—and closed his eyes, laying there for a moment; letting the warm sun beam down upon him.

"That was an unfair shot. We're only supposed to be doing scrimmage, not fancy little tricks like _that,_" Jace's voice loomed over head, and Alec opened his left eye to regard Jace; he was wiping sweat off of his forehead with the back of his forearm, while their soccer ball was tucked neatly under his left armpit. Alec laughed again.

"You're just pissed off because I got the ball past you pretty fast." Alec indicated and picked himself up from the ground, brushing off his black shorts.

"Nah, I would call that a lucky shot anyways. You know I gimp out on my left." Jace pointed out. "So the way I see it, you were cheating and playing at my faults." Jace said haughtily dropping the ball to his feet so he could snake his arms across his ample chest.

"Isn't that what sports are for? Out wit—Out play?" Alec quirked his head to the side with a snarly smile on his face. Jace shoved at his shoulder roughly, but all at the same time playfully, sending him back a few steps at the abruptness. Alec copied Jace's motions, pushing harshly on the sweat soaked shirt around Jace's chest; and before long Jace had somehow pinned Alec to the ground with his body, sitting on the top of his chest while Alec squirmed from underneath him restlessly.

"Say mercy." Jace taunted as he slapped Alec's brightly flushed cheeks teasingly. The sun was beating down on them in harsh rays of light, blinding Alec for the most part, but as well heating his body past the point of melting.

"I'm not going to say it," Alec tried to wiggle himself free from Jace's lock on his body; thrashing his head from side to side. Jace clasped Alec's chin in his large golden hand, squishing his lips together to make Alec's lips pucker.

"Say it, and I'll get off of you." Alec shook his head _'no'_ again, unrelenting to give in. "What, you like this position don't you?"

"Jace—What—?" Alec stopped instantly in his movements, his mouth falling completely open. He swore he felt his heart jerk to a stop in that moment; his eyes went wide despite the insistent glare of the sun above. It was as if everything around him stopped in that moment, waiting patiently for some kind of bigger reaction out of Alec.

"Me, being on top of you." Jace smirked down at him, a boyish type of smirk that he usually used when he got his way with something. Alec wasn't breathing at all by now, never mind the added pressure to his chest that Jace was exerting. "You're probably imagining that girl you shagged the other day in this exact same position hey?" Jace started to laugh and then swung his right leg from around Alec's torso to get off of him. Alec felt a weight lift from his chest; the air from his lungs came out in a low, long breath.

"Yeah, er, actually no not really." Alec sat up and once again got to his feet, having to brush the pieces of grass from the back of his clothes. "I don't like being under someone..." Alec squared his features, concentrated in thought. "Well okay, I do, but, uhh—" How was Alec supposed to explain to Jace that he specifically liked being underneath of _Magnus? _"—Nevermind let's just forget about this." Alec shook his head and then threaded his fingers throughout his hair shakily.

"You still haven't told me about this girl yenno." Jace gave Alec an intimidating stare, boring straight through him. "It's starting to hurt my feelings." He said a bit teasingly, but at the same time with a composed face.

"Yeah right. I'm pretty sure you will be just fine _not _knowing." Alec nudged Jace in the ribs with his elbow, smiling—but surprisingly enough the smile was not reciprocated by Jace.

"Why won't you tell me? I'm your brother, we tell each other everything. What's so bad about this little harmless information?" Jace's facial features were stern and hard now, no note of teasing left his voice.

"Because it isn't just a little harmless..." Alec muttered to himself, turning his head away from Jace so that he couldn't get caught up with starring into those bright liquid golden orbs.

"Wow, with the way you guys look right now I can guarantee that you two will repel anyone who steps within a foot of you tonight." They both turned around to regard Isabelle who was standing on the back porches second step that led down to the wide open grassy back yard, which was closed off by the tall evergreen and pine trees just a little ways away. Her hair was pulled up into a pink towel, her face bare and wiped clean of any makeup; the way Alec loved to see her. She was wearing a simpled cream colored silk robe that was tied up by a thin red sash just above her mid-section; highlighting the slenderness of her waist.

"I thought girls liked the musky smell of guys that have been working out?" Jace remarked stepping closer to her and the edge of the porch; shifting the ball slightly between his feet.

"God no. We much rather watch you guys get all worked up and sweaty. But then afterwards when you're done, it's just disgusting." Isabelle placed her delicate ivory hands on her hips. "Clary will be here soon," Isabelle pointed out to Jace, Alec supposed. He really didn't have any inclination to wanting to have information about Clary, where as Jace did. Because they were in fact dating; that was pretty evident to the lot of them.

"This is ridiculous, it's what eleven a.m.? And you two are already getting ready for homecoming which isn't until nine tonight." Jace shook his head as he continued to walk towards Isabelle, scooping up the soccer ball into his arms. Alec followed in his steps earnestly, the heat of the sun wasn't doing much for Alec at the moment and he desperately wanted the cold shower that would be awaiting him as he stepped into the house.

"What's even more ridiculous is that the Academy gives us this day off for that specific reason." Alec added as he nudged his way past Isabelle on the porch. At the present moment the two of them hadn't spoken much to one another—keeping at an acceptably fair and comfortable distance from each other. Because really, Isabelle knew she took things too far the other day after he had came home from Magnus'; she could read her brother like a fresh piece of paper with instructions on it how to put together a toy, and she realized later on that she had over stepped some boundaries. And Alec, being the 'keep to himself' kind of person that he already was, didn't bother to induce her on what had occurred and just decided to push it at the back of his mind.

He had other things to worry about, like the ever growing need he had for Magnus—suprising none the less—which set his nerves on wildfire whenever he began to daydream and let his mind wonder about Magnus. Yes, a cold shower was definitely needed soon. Very soon.

"Just be glad it's a free day away from _school _of all things. What's there to complain about?" Isabelle called to Alec as he made his way through the wide open glass french door, which led into their bright and airy kitchen. Robert, his father, was seated on a high chair around the right side of the marble island counter with his small square reading glasses on, reading yet another newspaper—what he was usually found doing on any given day. As soon as Alec walked into the kitchen, Robert's ears perked up to the sound of his soccer shoes squeaking against the flooring.

"I saw that shot from the window right there," Robert raised his pointer finger around one of the edges of his black and white newspaper gesturing over to the window set above the kitchen sink. "Very nice. I take it you and Jace are still trying out for the team?"

"Yeep," Alec leaned back against the wall adjacent to the back door, faintly listening to the sound of Isabelle's and Jace's voices outside. He raised his left hand to his slightly sweat soaked hair and, once again, threaded his hands through the soft tresses; for a fleeting moment he imagined Magnus' large hands moving throughout his hair—his fingers dancing down Alec's chest and abdomen as well, and even lower... Lower...

"Alec?"

"Yeah—What?" Alec practically blurted out, while his fathers voice broke his reverie inside his mind. He had to stop letting his thoughts slip away so easily on himself like that. He met his fathers blue gaze, holding it for a moment before Robert began to speak again.

"I was just asking if you had a date like Izzy and Jace do?" Robert set the newspaper down on top of the marble counter top, folding it in half before resting his hands out on top of it; clasped together. He leaned forward on his elbows, the thin reading glasses he adorned, slid down the bridge of his arched nose.

"Uhh, yeah I kind of do," Alec trailed his hand out of his hair and down to the back of his neck where, out of nervous habit, he began to stroke his still heated skin. "But I'm meeting—_her_, at the dance later. She's not coming here."

"Good. We'll already have a full house, I suppose, pretty soon." Robert finished speaking, as Isabelle and Jace finally made their way into the kitchen, standing around with and or near Alec.

"What do you mean? Clary's the only one coming over soon right?" Alec quirked his eyebrow quizzically on his forehead, glancing back and forth between Isabelle and Jace steadily.

"Well yeah, Clary _is _coming over. But Simon is coming with her, and then... My date and his friend are coming over for a bit too." Isabelle shrugged her shoulders. Jace not paying as much attention—and or not having any interest whatsoever—to the slight current situation, began to play with the ends of the towel wrapped around Isabelle's head, which were slopping down freely. "Jace stop it," Isabelle swatted at his hand, when he attempted to nudge the whole entire towel off of her head.

"Your date? Who's your date?" Alec regretfully asked, as a thought scuttled its way into his head... Isabelle shifted uncomfortably where she stood, raising her polished fingers to her mouth to bite down on her already forced back nail beds. That was indication enough to Alec that his suspicions were right. "Will. Your date is Will. And he is coming here. Soon." Alec breathed every word out as if they were tainted and laced with opium. He starred at her blankly, with an impassive straight face.

"I'm going to go," Jace cut through the brief silence that began to encompass the kitchen widely. He backed away from them and turned as soon as he came upon the archway that would lead into the hallway connected to their bedrooms.

"C'mon Alec, you can't honestly tell me you weren't expecting that?" She raised her thin perfectly arched dark eyebrows at him dauntingly.

"Okay, I guess I _was_ expecting that," Alec rolled his eyes and sighed, pushing himself away from the wall to stand closer to her. "Just Iz, if anything happens tonight... Between the two of you, I swear by the angel, I will kill him." Alec said pointedly.

"And be rest assured young lady," Robert spoke up from behind them. "Nothing, absolutely nothing, better happen. I'll have your brothers report back to me if anything does." Isabelle sighed and unwrapped the towel from around her head, letting her long, wavy and slightly damp, charcoal black hair fall around her shoulders; dots of water staining the front of her silk robe.

"Yeah whatever." She muttered under her breath. "Why do you never say as much to Jace or Alec?" She semi-whined, glancing back over towards their father.

"Because I trust my boys in handling their woman respectfully. It's those other boys that I don't trust in handling my daughter. I haven't even met this William; how could I not create speculations in my mind about how this boy will be Izzy?" Isabelle walked over to Robert and placed her hand on his cheek.

"Dad don't worry about it. Will isn't a bad guy," Alec scoffed and snorted loudly; swiftly Isabelle threw him a striking, searing glare, immediately shutting him up. Then she turned back to their father. "Really dad. You can judge for yourself when he gets here. He'll be over soon with Magnus in an—"

"With _Magnus?_" Alec breathed, his eyes opening wide. "Magnus is coming _here?—_Er, and Will?"

"Yeah only for an hour or two, just to hang out before tonight. Clary and, ugh, _Simon_," Isabelle said his name lazily, "will be here all day I'm guessing."

"Great. That's just great." Alec started for the archway hastily, now in complete desperation for a shower before Magnus, of all people, would show up at his house. His room was a complete mess as it was, and he definitely didn't plan on Magnus coming over to his house unexpectedly. But at least now he knew, rather than having the complete and utter surprise of finding Magnus somewhere in the house talking to Isabelle, Jace, or Robert, about God knows what. Isabelle caught up to Alec in the brightly lit hallway, latching onto his forearm, twisting him around to a stop.

"I thought you would like this—what with Magnus coming over and all." Isabelle puckered her lips and gazed into his eyes. Her eyes were darker than the sky during twilight; luminous, at the same time deep and brooding.

"Yeah, but not when I'm drenched in sweat and look like... Well... This." Alec gestured to himself with his finger, wracking up and down his body. He was wearing a pair of old black soccer shorts which were frayed at the legs ends, with a slight rip on the right side. He also adorned an old scouters camp t-shirt which was two sizes too small, fitting to the planes of his body—something Alec would have hated to wear in public—as if it were painted onto his skin.

"Oh I see, you want to look good for Magnus, huh?" Isabelle crossed her thin arms over her chest and leaned her shoulder against the wall of the hallway. The whole time, both of them were talking in hushed whispers subconsciously, as to not spur anyone else's attention in the house to their conversation. Now, Alec guessed, they were actually talking normally in some sense without the trials of Jace being around to over hear. Alec still had a problem with what Isabelle had did and said the day previous, but he was willing enough to let it go for the sake of his and Isabelle's relationship. Because really, Alec needed his sister, no matter how annoying or childish or abrupt or hot-tempered she could be about certain things.

"Uhh, yeah I guess." Alec didn't exactly know how to respond to that and shrugged. Of course it wasn't hard to miss the fact that Magnus liked to take care of the way he looked. His hair was always styled up, with a few bangs sweeping across his forehead, perfectly. His face was flawless, even toned and at the same time intriguing by the intoxicating eye make-up he would wear. His clothes were almost always bright and somewhat flashy; definitely expensive, and conformed to his lean taught body. It didn't exactly gnaw at Alec's insides that he might have been playing down his looks by a mile as compared to Magnus, but he did want to look at least a little presentable to him.

"Thought of like a true Lightwood. We always have to be on top of our game and keep our men wanting more." Isabelle winked; her long lashes ghosting over the tops of her angular cheekbones.

"I love how you can say that so easily." Alec joked and turned around to continue down the hall, opening up his bedroom door and stepping into it for a brief moment to pick up a simple pair of khaki brown shorts and a light grey fleece long sleeve. He walked back out into the hall, where Isabelle had been subsequently waiting for him there for the short minute he was gone.

"What? Of course, now I can talk about you in me in the same regards. We both like the same equipment down there... So..."

"Iz, seriously can we not talk about _that?_" Alec sighed exasperatedly, manoeuvring around her body in the hallway to the bathroom door situated just behind her.

"Oh c'mon," Isabelle said loudly, then she dropped her voice to continue, "Humour me into thinking you haven't had at least one dirty sexy dream about what a guy like Magnus may be packing..." Alec blushed at that, quite feverishly. Heat eclipsed up and over his cheeks fast, turning his ivory skin along his cheek bones into the color of ripe tomatoes. "See what I mean?" Isabelle grinned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alec pushed past her and into the bathroom, attempting to hide the feigning smile on his face. He closed the door hastily in her face cutting off her insistent blabbering and within a few seconds, clothes being pealed from his back and legs, Alec hoped into the briskly cold shower. Just the way he needed it to be.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ok, so originally Homecoming was going to be one long chapter but as I was writing it I was lead to believe (by my computer) that I had written only 6,000 words. I thought that was acceptable enough to have in only one chapter again. But then when I uploaded it here, I was shocked by getting way over 6,000 words... So I decided to split everything up into three parts. This part was to just show the morning and more interaction between Isabelle, Jace and Alec. Now... On to the beginning paragraph before the break line... Muahah, I thought it was a pretty fun idea, to keep you guys on your toes guessing what/who those situations really involve. It will be up for the other parts as well, just in case you want to refer back to it and see if any of your speculations were right! And really, some of those happenings will not be figured out until later on in the story. Welcome to homecoming!**

**Review's are for those who like cupcakes :)**

**Amber,**


	34. The Long and Winding road

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY THREE  
>HOMECOMING PART II<strong>

_**The Long and Winding road  
><strong>  
>"The long and winding road, That leads to your door, Will never disappear<br>I've seen that road before, It always leads me here  
>Lead me to your door<em>_."_

* * *

><p>There were a series of events and happenings that occurred that stormy night at Mount Western Prep. Private Academies homecoming dance. Course changing events which involved different groups of friends and couples of every other side, coming together in such a way that detoured the meaning of what was supposed to be a perfect night; but nevertheless it was definitely one to remember.<p>

For you see, there was a couple, a boy and a girl, who were somewhat careless and didn't use protection of any kind when they escaped into the night; and the occurrence that went on was bound to cause long-term trouble. On another end of the night, there was another two, this time a boy and a boy, evenly matched, who ended up throwing heated words and punches in a darkly lit hallway; far from any curious eyes. Then, there again, were two boys in which one boy wouldn't know where he stood anymore in regards with the other by the end of the night—into the early morning.

The booze would have been flowing in heavy streams and more than one person would have ended up dabbling in a few drinking games out back, that led to a girl being left alone in the rain. A chance kiss with the wrong person would bring up new difficulties. Someone would say _I love you_ at the crack of midnight, and whether that _'I love you'_ was reciprocated or not, we don't know quite yet. And then, there was someone who died.

But we'll get to that a bit later. Because what is suspense without the wait?

* * *

><p>"You have got to be kidding me," Isabelle sauntered her way over to the breakfast nook table where Alec, Jace, Clary and Simon all sat around, talking to Robert who, at the same time, stayed standing next to the table. Isabelle had gracefully walked in right at the exact moment that Simon and Robert had gone into a long conversation about old Ford cars and the merit of the originals. Alec sat next to Jace, in which they basically twinned each others positions: both leaning forward on their elbows, with their knuckles pressed and ducked right underneath their chins. Clary sat across from Jace, fiddling with the edges of a roll smeared with butter in her hand, and obviously, Simon was beside her, in a kicked back gesture, leaning over the back of his chair.<p>

"Hmm?" Robert broke his focus on Simon at the sound of Isabelle's voice and turned his head to regard her.

"You're fraternizing with the enemy." She stated, leaning over Simon to grab a pear out of one of the mosaic orange and blue glass bowls in the middle of the table. Simon slightly scowled in her direction as she stood back up, properly. But if Alec didn't know any better, Simon was looking at her as if she were some type of foreign object that he desired but somehow knew he wouldn't be able to obtain. But that was only Alec's perception, and really he had never been all that good at figuring people out. Not as good as Isabelle usually was, or not even as close to how Magnus deemed to be.

"This young man is one of the good ones," Robert clapped his hand down on top of Simon's shoulder. "Simon right?" Robert turned his gaze back down to Simon.

"Yes sir," Simon said courteously. He had been acting like that ever since he stepped in the door and met Robert. It was as if he were dancing around their father lightly as to not upset him in courting his daughter. Although they all knew that, that wasn't Simon's purpose of being at their house at the present moment.

"Well I'll leave you kids here to talk amongst yourselves. I'll be in the front living room." Robert announced and then he left the room soundlessly, not so much in a rush, but not in a lingering manner otherwise.

"So," Clary leaned in close, her bare freckled shoulders inching up towards her ears. She was dressed in a simple white tank top and cut off light washed shorts; not what she was going to wear for homecoming, obviously, but for the day where they had all decided to hang out before hand. "Sebastian and John are getting the drinks later on. They'll probably pick it up from Sage around ten or so."

"Why isn't Magnus getting it? Him and Sage are like best friends." Simon interjected, raising one of his eyebrows from behind his glasses. His plain brown hair was as disorderly as Alec's hair always was; dishevelled to new extremes around his head, falling haphazardly across his forehead. His thin lips were pulled into a straight line, and his chocolate brown eyes remained steady. He was that person who was unwavering—as James was in Alec's opinion—a steady glowing flame in the darkness; someone who was there to keep those who they cared for grounded. In this case, Simon was that for Clary, and possibly James was that for William or Magnus... Or a combination of the both.

"Magnus said he didn't want to see Sage until after, well, you know... _Tomorrow._" Clary said the word hesitantly; a faint whisper that no doubt everyone had caught on to. Simon replied silently, making his mouth into a simple 'O' shape—the thought seeming to evade his mind a moment before.

"Why do you say it like that?" Isabelle enquired as she sat against the edge of the table beside Alec, resting her forearm against the top of his head before he ducked out of the position.

"Oh, well, I guess you guys know that Magnus' mother passed away a long time ago right?" Clary prodded, glancing back and forth between all of the Lightwood siblings, her emerald eyes were gleaming with a fresh bright hue. They all gave a silent nod of acknowledgement. "Tomorrow is the date. And I mean, Sage was a friend of Palmer's a long, long time ago. And if you knew her apparently Sage is like her counter part in some ways? Or at least that's what Magnus once told me." Clary looked down at her hands that rested in her lap now; her pink lips pulled into a taught line. "But please don't mention anything to him. All of us try our best not to say anything to him about it around this time of the year."

Alec felt a pang of stigma hit him sharply for a second, because he had attempted to get Magnus to talk about his mother the day prior and now he felt awful about it. Of course Magnus wouldn't have wanted to talk about his mother and Alec shouldn't have pushed him into that kind of a situation; he was acting selfishly on his part because truly all Alec wanted at the moment was to be let into Magnus' past life, because at the back of his mind he felt as if _that_ would be the thing that would somehow solidify his permanent place in Magnus' present life. He didn't necessarily think about the fact that it was probably terribly hard for Magnus to talk about his mothers death in that moment. Another pain hit him; how could he do that to Magnus? Alec of all people should have understood the ramifications that came with losing someone they loved in a tragic way...

_"Oh yes, yes. Like I mentioned before the Weeping Angel is quite possibly my favorite statue,"_ a lithe familiar voice captured Alec's senses instantly. He hadn't realized anything until that moment that everyone around him seemed to go on without him; talking about the drinks and plans Sebastian and Johnathan had devised for that night. And he certainly hadn't realized that Magnus—and William—were now at the front door of his house. He could hear them faintly talking with Robert.

He continued to listen in on the movements out in the other room, while everyone else payed no attention at all. Alec could feel the blood quickening in his veins, flowing erratically throughout him. "You should see the museums they have up in Prague, definitely a sight to see." Robert suggested as the three figures walked through the archway. Alec didn't turn to regard them, he attempted to look straight ahead at Simon, only watching from his peripheral vision Magnus and William make their way over to the group.

"Mmm, what are we talking about here?" Magnus leaned over the back of Alec's chair, covertly trailing his fingers up and along Alec's back through the cut out in the chair. From the position they were in, no one would have been able to see Magnus' hand sneaking slowly up Alec's spine—causing him to shiver feverishly; heat flooding his face instantly.

"Sebastian and John getting the drinks. And what they're planning for a little after party—my house, I guess." Clary smirked up at Magnus who was still leaning over Alec's chair. The smell of pungent fruit wavered off of him, in sweet spurts. Alec tensed under the movements of Magnus' hand, and Isabelle looked down at him weirdly, noticing the tension that now rested along the planes of Alec's shoulders and chest.

"That bastard brother of yours never tells me about these plans," Magnus teased, straightening up a bit from behind Alec; his hand slipping away.

"Oh I wonder why," Clary drawled out, smirking. "After the last couple of drinking binges you've went on, I seem to think there is a reason John may not mention it to you right off the bat..." She giggled wondrously, and Alec glanced to his side at Jace who's eyes lit up and glittered at her laugh.

"He isn't still mad about the time I burned all of his clothes, is he?" Magnus asked, causing Jace, Isabelle and Alec to swing their heads back to regard him with curious eyes. It was then that Alec had realized he hadn't yet gotten the chance to get a good look at Magnus. He was wearing a ripe green slinky tank top that fell over his black waxy shorts clad hips marvellously. There was a small dark silver chain tucked underneath the low hem of his tank top; and at the end, through the shirt, Alec could see the outline of a small oval shaped pendant. Magnus smirked down at him quickly; his lips slightly glossed while his eyes were fully lined with ashy black eyeliner. "_Accidentally,_" Magnus nodded his head at Clary, "that is."

"Oh sure, I bet that was an accident," she smiled. Of course, in many ways, Alec was still trying to figure out how a group of friends as diverse as they all were, managed to work fluidly and stick together. There might have been things going on behind the scenes, but essentially they all seemed to connect perfectly. Whether that was because they bonded over being the rich kids on top of the hills or because they truly all had the same interests, Alec didn't know.

"Did you tell John to make sure to put the drinks in the trunk of Gideon's car?" William's voice still struck some type of nervous and or mental cord within Alec. William wasn't per-se intimidating in Alec's opinion, just very... Defiant—as if he cancelled out and hid his true emotions and thoughts with his personality in order to hide himself. Under that semi-delicate, semi-hard face, tall slender body, thick black head of hair, and behind those deep sinking blue eyes Alec didn't quite know what he saw. All he knew though was that he didn't exactly like it, and it made him feel apprehensive whenever he was around William.

But this was Magnus' best friend; this was someone who Magnus trusted completely for reasons Alec couldn't possibly know. And it was a little price to pay—to get used to the idea of William always being around—for Alec to make Magnus a little bit happy in that respect. Of course, Alec hadn't had a proper conversation with Magnus about his thoughts towards William, but they didn't exactly _need _to have that discussion... Did they?

"I'll call him right now, just hold on," she started to get up from the table, her phone in hand as she walked over to the other side of the kitchen. William followed her ruthlessly; his steps graceful and soundless against the floor.

"Wipe that stupid grin off your face," Isabelle turned to Simon, pointing her finger accusatory at his chest. He was wearing another one of his classics shirt, which had bright yellow letters across the front saying: _'Say Goodbye to the Ponds'_ and another image of a telephone booth from England—or as it was, a Tardis. Alec internally laughed to himself—smiling outwards.

"What the hell?" Simon gazed up at her, through his glasses. "I can't smile now?"

"No. Not while you're around me," Isabelle said haughtily, pushing lightly at his chest. Simon nudged her in the side rather playfully, but in doing so he accidentally knocked her from the tables edge. "Hey!" She half shouted, flicking her slightly damp hair out of her face.

"Oh god, I'm sorry Izzy," Simon said between fervent laughs, getting up out of his seat to help her up from the ground. "Here," he held out his hand to her.

"And to think you actually wanted to have a chance with me." Isabelle huffed as she willingly accepted his hand.

"WHAT? Who told you that, not," Simon added hastily coughing into his fist, "that, that's true or anything." Jace shook his head wistfully from Alec's side, sighing as he did so.

"Alexander," Magnus said lowly, moving around so he stood more beside him, than behind, so Alec wouldn't have to strain his neck. "You know that Biology homework we had yesterday?" Alec quirked his eyebrow, not catching on immediately to where Magnus was going with this at all. "Do you mind showing it to me? Is it in... Your room, by any chance?" Magnus gave him a pointed challenging look, and for a brief moment he darted out his tongue licking his bottom lip seductively. Alec looked around him hesitantly; Simon and Isabelle were still mildly bickering, Simon's face was flushed with color while Isabelle seemed to marvel in that fact; Clary and William were still on the other side of the kitchen, closest to the archway which would lead into the front foyer, but now instead of Clary talking on the phone they were submerged into their own conversation; and Jace had his head down, resting on top of the table, his back rising slowly and steadily.

"Uhh, yeah. Here come on, I'll show you where it is." Alec nearly stumbled into Magnus' body while getting up from his seat and a slight flush crawled across the tops of his cheekbones. He took the lead out of the kitchen—obviously—and headed towards the archway that would lead into the bedroom section of their house. Magnus followed not too closely behind at first, but once they were out of sight of the kitchen, he snaked his arm around Alec's waist—resting his hand low on the dip of Alec's hip bone. Alec instantly sank into the gesture, shifting his weight so he could feel more of Magnus against him as they continued down the hall.

They finally came up to his bedroom door, mere moments after leaving the kitchen. Alec could feel heat rising up his cheeks, because this was Magnus and this was his room; the two counter parts working together could either call for disaster or bliss. But nevertheless Alec was nervous. He reached out for the door knob and hesitantly turned it and stepped into his room—which he haphazardly attempted to clean before Magnus and William came over. It was bright, his blinds pulled completely up; letting in all the light of the suns persistent rays. His bed was smaller than Magnus' high bed that had been at his house, and he didn't have the luxury of having an ensuite connected to his bedroom by a set of carved french doors. But, his room was still a small—or rather large—token to the person he was.

Beside his cherry wood dresser rested two perfectly polished surf boards: each having intricate black and gold patterns trailing along the edges and through the middle. Right underneath his large window lay his vintage guitar, resting against the low sill—begging to be played. There were also books everywhere; books Alec had taken from his fathers study over the summer and past few weeks, that he had yet to return to their rightful spots. He attempted to put them in an orderly fashion on top of his night tables and dresser, as well shoved underneath his bed... His walls were presently bare—like Jace's walls were—save for the plaques commemorating his soccer victories on Oble's finest team in their division, and a small copper rimmed family picture hanging above his bed.

"Uhh, so... Yeah, this is my room," Alec said timidly, offering Magnus a small smile. He could tell that he was blushing, but as of late he was getting rather used to it in the presence of Magnus. It was something he might never be able to get over, really. In a sharp rush of movements Magnus had captured both Alec's hips and his mouth, pressing both of them equally against his own, and without any sort of hesitation he feverishly attacked Alec. He divulged his tongue into Alec's mouth—not waiting for any permission of any kind—catching Alec off guard so much so that he let out a small gasp. Magnus seemingly eased the door shut with his foot.

"Magnus—" Alec attempted to say as Magnus continued to attack Alec's lips, sucking longingly on his bottom lip, while bringing his hands up, from Alec's waist, to hold Alec's face between the palms of his large hands. Magnus pulled back from the kiss reluctantly.

"We haven't seen each other since yesterday afternoon, Alexander. Just let me ravish you right now, before we have to go back." Magnus said hastily before he pushed Alec forcefully back onto his bed; crawling up his body seductively mere moments later. Magnus waisted no time at all and trailed his hands under and up Alec's long sleeve grey shirt, working his fingers over Alec's chest in a chilling tempting dance. At his cold touch Alec arched his back up from the bed; his head falling further into the confines of his sheets. Magnus latched his lush lips onto the side of Alec's neck, just below his ear and began to suck at the heated skin—darting his tongue out. He moved his lips over slightly to rest upon Alec's pulse point, dragging a strangled sigh from Alec's lips.

"_Shit, Magnus,_" Alec groaned, placing his hands onto Magnus' butt—pressing him closer to his body. The need for some form of friction was becoming unbearable and in that moment Alec knew he wanted—_needed _so much more... Magnus picked up his head slightly to nibble on Alec's earlobe; catching it in between his teeth.

"Alexander, we have to be quiet," he indicated rather breathlessly, his breath ghosting over Alec's skin sweetly. He rolled his hips against Alec's swiftly as he bit down on Alec's ear numbly, suppressing his own groan.

"_Okay_." Alec sighed pushing up at Magnus chest. "When you do _that, _it makes it pretty hard to stay quiet." Alec said between pants. Magnus sat up a bit, straddling the top of Alec's thighs, while his hands were placed on either side of Alec's shoulders—propping him upwards. He smiled down at Alec a gave him a low husky laugh.

"What? When I do this?" Magnus grinned and grounded himself down on to Alec; the friction created made Alec throw his head back. He bit his lip hard, stifling back a low groan that threatened to escape his lips. He dug his finger tips in the fabric of Magnus' shorts around his hips, forcefully spurring Magnus on with the motion of his core moving over top of Alec's. "I see someone can't wait until tonight." Magnus leaned down to pepper kisses all over Alec's face.

"Tonight—? What's happening tonight?" Alec asked between breaths. He was panting hard now, and that should have been at least slightly embarrassing for him—but at the moment the only coherent thought flowing through his mind was: _Magnus is on top of me, and I like it. A lot.  
><em>  
>"Oh, I have a plan, lovely. Just you wait and see." Magnus purred as he scraped his nails down Alec's chest, through his long sleeved light grey shirt. Suddenly there was a faint knock as Alec's door; jostling both of them out of their luminous, ethereal state. Hastily and rather absent-minded forcibly, Alec pushed Magnus off of him and in the process Magnus was essentially thrown to the floor—a resounding thud bounced around Alec's room.<p>

"Hey lovebirds," Isabelle eased his door open and instantly took stalk of the situation in front of her: Alec with his shirt pushed up to expose the majority of his abdomen; Magnus sprawled out on the hardwood floor of Alec's room—while they both looked completely and utterly flushed and otherwise needy. "We're all in the kitchen, yenno..." Isabelle trailed off, cocking her hand to the side to indicate towards the side of the house where the kitchen was located. She drew out her statement languidly and Alec arched his eyebrow briefly, high on his forehead in question.

"So?" He asked dubiously; his head still fogged from the events that were just transpiring a moment earlier.

"So... You think nobody would hear you two having sex?" Isabelle crossed her arms over her chest; something she seemed to be doing a lot lately and smirked; Magnus snickered from his spot on the ground, re-positioning himself so he was leaning back on his elbows. "Otherwise I'm pretty sure after awhile someone might think one or the other was getting murdered."

"We weren't going to have sex though," Alec groaned exasperatedly and fell back against his bed with a loud sigh, placing his hands on top of his stomach... Which was still bare... He moved his shirt down a second later and then continued to stay in his laid back position on his bed.

"I don't care," Isabelle flicked her wrist at him and slightly rolled her eyes.

"Why are you here anyways?" Alec asked a bit venomously and merely picked up his head to regard his sister. Magnus stood up from the floor, then, and placed himself back on top of Alec's bed; sitting closely, while placing his hand onto Alec's knee.

"Mad that I interrupted your _alone time, _eh?" Isabelle boasted a sadistic smile tugging at the corners of her lush pink lips.

"Iz—"

"Okay," she held her hands up in front of herself, "I was just thinking since Magnus has rather impeccable fashion sense, and since Clary's off with Jace now—doing God knows what—that I should come find him so he could help me pick a dress." Isabelle twirled a loss piece of—still slightly damp—ink black hair around her pointer finger. Alec scowled at her, desperately wishing he had locked his door. Magnus gagged Alec's reaction quickly and began to laugh lowly; his eyes shimmering brightly, turning more gold than green. Magnus leaned over, too quick for Alec to properly comprehend the action at the moment, and stole a quick kiss. Instantly Alec's face flooded with heat; while Isabelle—having witnessed another one of their kisses—had a rather sly smirk on her pale pretty face.

"Sure I can help you. That is if Alexander doesn't mind...?" Magnus turned his head to Alec, as he simply nodded in compliance. "Colors?" Magnus asked Isabelle expectantly, easing himself off of the bed.

"Pale gold, Blood red, Deep indigo..."

"Fantastic," Magnus' smile lit up and he wrapped his arm around Isabelle's shoulders. He stood taller than Isabelle by a lot; their skin colors contrasted widely, while their hair was almost the same shade of ink black. "I'll be back lovely," Magnus threw him a disastrous sultry grin over his shoulder—causing a hot tremor to run through Alec's veins. Whatever Magnus had planned for that night, Alec was rather excitedly anticipating greatly for it. Today there was a different air around them, one which was charged with a hidden message and an undeniable need for one another; in some sense.

Things were going to happen that night, things that made Alec nervous to think about but likewise relieved at the progression. With Magnus it was hard for Alec to form a solid sense of restraint, because everything—absolutely everything—Magnus did sent all of Alec's nerves on a rapid trepidation; almost like an uncontrollable wild fire. The subtle glances and smirks he gave Alec caused him to shiver; the sound of his voice—the soft caresses of his hands against Alec's hips and chest—matched the shivers equally with hot tremors of desire.

Magnus and Isabelle left the room within a minute, leaving Alec all by himself. Which he was somewhat thankful for—he was of course bothered by the fact that Magnus and him had been interupted—because otherwise he need to take a moment to himself so he could recollect his thoughts. A handful of minutes later Alec found himself suitable enough to return to the kitchen, in hopes of finding Simon at least to talk to, but dreading the fact that William would undoubtedly be there as well.

Alec stepped into the kitchen and sure enough Simon and William were sitting at the breakfast nook, laughing about something that had been said previous to Alec walking into the bright room. Jace and Clary were no where in sight; but that was how it was as of late; whenever Clary was around you couldn't count on being able to hang out with Jace all that much. And if Alec was going to be completely honest with himself, he was still a bit jealous at the thought of Clary coming into their lives—mainly Jace's—and essentially stealing him away from Alec's world.

"Hey Alec, sit down, sit down." Simon beckoned him over with a flick of his hand lazily. Alec sheepishly smiled and took the seat next to Simon, not daring to sit next to William really. But now they were positioned face-to-face; not at all any better of a situation, had Alec sat down beside him. "Do you like quading?" Simon asked earnestly, pushing his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, I mean, I haven't really been out quading in a long time—way before we moved out here—it's really cool and all, but yeah, I like it." Alec found himself rambling around his clear objectives. He often found himself stumbling on his sentences and words around those who he wasn't entirely comfortable around.

"Good, because when we go up to Jem's next weekend, me, you, Seb, John, Jace, and Will here, will definitely be taking all the quads out." Simon's chocolate brown eyes flickered with excitement.

"Why not Jem?" Alec asked curiously. And to his surprise William instantly answered.

"His parents had bought all those quads a couple pf years ago just for Jem—and well his cousins from his uncles side. But that year Jem got sick and wasn't able to ever actually learn how to ride." William explained, setting his deep blue eyes onto Alec. They were so piercing and hard—ominously deep—almost like the dark unexplored portion of the ocean.

"Oh, I see." Alec didn't necessarily know how to go off of that. He felt a bit bad at intruding on such information as that.

"But he's fine now. Absolutely fine," William had a ghost of a smile on his lips, almost none noticeable—that is if you didn't look closely. "You're heading up with Jem and Tessa I suppose?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

"I'm not sure, but I mean if they say it's okay then I will for sure take the offer." Alec smiled with his lips still firmly closed. He couldn't quite rap his head around the fact that William was actually being _nice _to him, at the moment. Maybe, just maybe, Magnus had said something to William sometime during the previous weeks, after they had went to the boat docks—when Alec had failed to suppress his feelings towards William, to Magnus.

"Is Izzy going?" Simon asked suddenly, brushing the palm of his hand over the top of his head—scruffing up his hair slightly.

"You know Simon, I'm starting to feel a bit threatened," William snaked his arms over his chest, smirking lopsidedly at Simon.

"What? Why?" Simon jerked his head to the side hastily; questioning and curiosity lacing all of his features instantly.

"This little crush you have on her. I feel a bit threatened by it," William indicated so clearly and bluntly. Simon's face paled significantly at the comment, and in that moment he decided to sit up straighter in his chair.

"I... No—" Simon began and then turned to Alec, "—I mean, don't get me wrong your sister is beautiful and all, but I mean... She makes me madder than Clary does when she goes off to do something completely reckless." William snorted, the smirk never leaving his face. "I don't like her," Simon said venomously, while he once again pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "In that way."

"Whatever you say. Just respect the boundaries okay? I'm with Isabelle—"

"She doesn't like to be called Isabelle," Alec interjected silently, but all at the same time interrupting William wistfully. "Unless you're being really serious with her."

"Okay," William shrugged his shoulders up. "As I was saying... I'm with _Izzy, _and I don't need someone else moving in on her, got it Simon?" He said in a more joking manner, rather than serious. Simon indeed took this light-heartily, nodding his head; and during this whole occurrence Alec had come to realize that Simon might have had a small amount of feelings towards his sister. But that didn't strike him as hard as the fact that William was 'with Isabelle'.

"How big is this cabin?" Alec redirected the conversation back to the beginning; feeling the need to learn more about the place he would be spending three long nights and two long days at.

"Oh, it's big trust me." Simon answered. "Think: that master ski resort up in Idris, but packaged into a snow globe. A big snow globe."

"Simon, you're awful at giving descriptions." William quipped, swiping a butter roll off of a dish in the middle of the breakfast nook table. "Let's just say it is big enough to accommodate every last one of us."

"We get our own rooms," Simon added, although that was fairly evident by what William had just stated. "Unless yenno, one of the couples wanted to bunk with one another or something." He shrugged. "Tonight should be fun," Simon completely went out of left field again. His mind always seemed scattered as if he were internally attempting to fix his thoughts on something else as to evade certain thoughts that he was trying to escape.

"God, I hope Sebastian and John don't get wasted again," William rolled his eyes, rocking backwards in his chair.

"Hey, you have to admit it's pretty hilarious. Seeing those two drunk? Priceless, baby."

"You're doing it again Simon." William sighed as he continued to rock back and forth on the back legs of his chair; while ripping into another piece of the butter roll he held between his lithe delicate fingers.

"What?"

"Being disastrously weird." William smiled and suddenly stood up from his seat, shoving the rest of the butter roll into his mouth and devouring it quickly. "Well, I'm going to go get Magnus. We've got a few things to do today—might as well start early." William glanced at Alec briefly, a small glance Alec couldn't quite make out, but he thought nothing of it otherwise. "Rooms are that way, yeah?" He gestured with a tilt of his head to the archway that led to the bedroom hall.

"Yeah, It's the last room, at the end of the hall," Alec indicated, not meeting William's gaze.

"Thanks." He said and turned around to saunter out of the room.

"Prepare yourself for tonight Alec," Simon yawned, and set his head upon the table top with his face turned towards Alec. His honest chocolate brown eyes peering up from beneath his rimmed glasses.

"Why do you say that?" Alec enquired.

"Because usually at these school events, things go terribly wrong and sometimes terribly right... So, prepare for the worst my friend."

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><p><strong>AN: Hi you guys! So this chapter took longer than expected because... I changed a bunch of things around! It would have been up sooner, had I not wanted things to go a bit differently, while still staying true to the initial paragraphs at the top. Another reason why this took so long is because I have been extremely paranoid about the Fanfiction purging, and I've been recklessly backing-up and downloading all of my story chapters (because I'm stupid and I delete them from my computer afterwards—not smart!) So, due to my paranoia and change-up, this chapter took way too long, and I am truly sorry for that! I promise, the next one won't take too long-and it will be huge-sort of? I guess... Er, well I mean you guys will be the judge of that. So yeah, Homecoming is one of the big events, like the small dinner party was, but it isn't the last! There is still Jem's cabin next week (in which i decided to change the rating to 'M' already in anticipation for those chapters...), possibly one more big event (I'm still contemplating on that), and then the monster which will take up so many chapters: The Bane annual banquet. I don't have much to say about this chapter in particular; I just wanted to get a bit more Malec in there I guess!**

**Reviews are for those who ship Malec forever.**

**Amber,**


	35. For No One

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR  
>HOMECOMING PART III<br>**_**  
>For No One <strong>_

"Your day breaks, your mind aches, You find that all her words of kindness linger on  
>When she no longer needs you, She wakes up, she makes up<br>She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry  
>She no longer needs you<em>."<em>

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><p>There were a series of events and happenings that occurred that stormy night at Mount Western Prep. Private Academies homecoming dance. Course changing events which involved different groups of friends and couples of every other side, coming together in such a way that detoured the meaning of what was supposed to be a perfect night; but nevertheless it was definitely one to remember.<p>

For you see, there was a couple, a boy and a girl, who were somewhat careless and didn't use protection of any kind when they escaped into the night; and the occurrence that went on was bound to cause long-term trouble. On another end of the night, there was another two, this time a boy and a boy, evenly matched, who ended up throwing heated words and punches in a darkly lit hallway; far from any curious eyes. Then, there again, were two boys in which one boy wouldn't know where he stood anymore in regards with the other by the end of the night—into the early morning.

The booze would have been flowing in heavy streams and more than one person would have ended up dabbling in a few drinking games out back, that led to a girl being left alone in the rain. A chance kiss with the wrong person would bring up new difficulties. Someone would say _I love you_ at the crack of midnight, and whether that _'I love you'_ was reciprocated or not, we don't know quite yet. And then, there was someone who died.

But we'll get to that a bit later. Because what is suspense without the wait?

* * *

><p><em>"Sail" <em>

Magnus stood among the throngs of people littering the dance floor. Bodies were pushed up against his, moving rapidly to the loud base of the music, waving throughout the dome shaped gym. Flashing blue and purple lights made it almost unbearable for his eyes to stay trained and or concentrated on anything at the present moment. The whole room was filled with decorations; from the dark swatches of burgundy and black drapes hanging from the ceiling iron pews, to the dangling black and gold stars hanging freely overhead. In the middle of the space, high above their heads, there was a structure which was made up of four different masked jokey faces—glittering and sparkling in the light—in which each face was placed on one of the four sides. There were large vases situated around the walls, flanking the archway door, with deep blood red colored roses flowing over top, flecked with gold dust.

The atmosphere of the space was... _Lustful—Intriguing. _Magnus felt his senses almost ignite as soon as he had walked into the make-shift Homecoming dance. He was clad in a pale grey dress suit, his pants hugged his legs tightly, accentuating the slight muscles in his legs and his butt; and he wore a dark indigo button up underneath with an ashy grey tie on to match. Definitely not the flashiest of outfits he was accustomed to wearing—but he more than made up for that in regards to his hair and face. The tips of his dark spiked up hair was twinged with bright blue, orange, and purple glitter—his eyes rimmed with rich blue eyeliner, while his cheeks were dusted with a bit of white glitter as a highlighter.

Magnus could detect the origin of the music playing overhead—faintly in the regards that the base had been turned up substantially, reverberating throughout the whole entire room, stuttering Magnus' heart. William, James and Tessa were all crowed around him, mainly trying to scream—talk—to each other over the base of the song. Magnus could see Camille and Sebastian a long ways away, standing near one of the exit signs above a back door: her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist, while he supported her barely covered butt with the palms of his hands. They were kissing sloppily; not caring at all about the people around them. But hey, that was Sebastian and Camille for you: two of the most ludicrous people, going against every ones wishes to please themselves.

Magnus sighed to himself slightly. Of course, he _was _having a good time, the dance was always one of the highlights of the year, but he just couldn't completely get _into _the whole vibe. And he knew that there were only two reasons why. One, in which he really didn't want to go there and rather he pushed the thought of bright yellow eyes to the back of his mind hurriedly. The second, was that his blue eyed boy was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, none of them—Jace, Clary, Simon, Isabelle, and Alec—had showed up. Magnus was left to wait patiently... Well, as patiently as he deemed possible for them, in hopes that once they had arrived he would be able to steal Alec away.

Earlier at the house, Magnus didn't necessarily want to leave and help Isabelle in picking out her dress, but he saw it as an opportunity to get to know her better than before, as well get an insider scoop on Alec a bit more. Learning that his—_boyfriend? _Was that what he was?—used to sleep with his parents until the age of eight was definitely something Magnus was going to taunt Alec with. And then there were a few things that Isabelle mentioned that confused Magnus, like the fact that there was another Lightwood—Max. Alec had yet to mention anything involving Max Lightwood, and while Magnus tried to coax a bit out of Isabelle about him, she wouldn't let up. Magnus decided in that moment that, that family was strong in standing their ground on certain topics. Unbending, unnerving—always trying their best to protect themselves as well as the ones they love.

Magnus did another one of his occasional sweeps of the room, as the music changed dramatically, the song Sail by AWOLnation engulfing the room instantly. The base in the song was even more dramatic than the last one, making the glittering stars hanging from the tight strings shake. Magnus glanced towards the doorway leading in and out of the gym, and instantly his breath hitched in his chest. Because there he was, standing in all of his glory with the rest of them flanked by his sides. Now, Magnus was determined to keep his eyes focused on the image in front of him.

Clary and Jace pushed lightly past the doorway, her dress was made up of different layers of pale green and browns, stopping just shy of her knees. The top of the dress was a deeper shade of green bringing out the fiery red color of her hair which was draped in thick curls over her left shoulder. Jace was casually dressed in a dark blue pant suit, much like Magnus' but instead he had a white v-neck on underneath. They moved through the crowd of people making their way to where Magnus, William, Tessa, and James stood. Isabelle and Simon seemed to be in some type of a fuss with one another as he tried to kindly—from Magnus' perspective—take Isabelle's purse for her while laughing, but she ended up kicking him in the shin instead.

She looked beautiful however, with that shock of black hair hanging in a thick braid down her back, she had decided to go with the blood red dress that Magnus had said would accentuate her curves.

As everything continued to go on around Magnus, he couldn't seem to break his gaze from Alec, who was still standing in front of the archway—the light of the moon escaping into the room around his form. He had a sly smirk on his face, and Magnus knew that Alec was definitely looking back at him. Magnus began to bend and move in and out of the many bodies over to Alec. Within moments they were standing face to face, not so close however to raise any form of suspicion from the people around them. Alec was a dark angel; dressed in a sleek, pressed all black pinstripe suit, with a black button up underneath that was partially unbuttoned at the top to reveal pale milky skin underneath. His hair was as dishevelled as it always was, sweeping across his forehead and into his eyes.

Magnus had the sudden urge to wipe away the strands of hair that fell onto his face, so he could stare within those lake blue eyes for however long. Magnus circled around Alec with his hands clasped behind his back, slowly, seductively, with a bright smile on his face. Alec watched him from the corners of his eyes, his lips quirked up at the left corner, revealing the dimple in his left cheek that Magnus so wondrously loved. He stopped on the left side of Alec, and leaned over a bit to whisper in his ear: "Mmm, Alexander. You look... Delicious, lovely. How about we take a little walk?" Magnus was delighted to see Alec's body stutter at the sound of his voice. It was amazing that he even heard Magnus over the base of the song.

"I just got here," Alec replied, turning to face Magnus more so. His eyes were dazzling and pale, the only brightness to Alec besides the tone of his skin. Magnus sighed, because really he wanted to be alone with Alec, but he wasn't about to deprive him of his first Homecoming in Alicante.

"Well c'mon then," Magnus tilted his head back towards the dance floor. "But promise me that I will get you alone at some point Alexander."

"I promise."

* * *

><p><em>"This was Simon"<em>

"Will!" Isabelle shouted as she had finally wrestled her way around the many sweat coated bodies of her fellow classmates. She had deftly tip-toed her way to him, decidedly attempting to keep her appearance in tact. The blood red dress Magnus had picked out for her hugged every curve and dip to her body greatly; but she didn't feel hesitant at all by the display of her body. She was proud of it, and would always be proud of it. He turned at the sound of her voice, flashing her one of his wolf smiles. She felt a small almost insignificant rise of heat to the tips of her ears, and thanked that they were hidden underneath her hair. She liked that William created this spark of interest within her; it was both exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time.

"Isabelle," he held out his hand to her. She couldn't help herself from cringing at the call of her full name. But she didn't say anything about it otherwise. She placed her hand softly within his, and instantly he pulled her to his body. He was breathtaking; really he was the picture of a Greek god—a sex god. But really that was maybe her hormones getting the better of her. "How was your day?" He leaned down to place his lips close to her ear.

"Good. Do you like the dress Magnus picked out for me?" Isabelle replied leaning back from him a bit.

"I love it," he regarded her calmly, before leaning down to capture her lips with his. It was gentle, soft, sweet, the type of kiss that was satiable, but it didn't give her that sudden urge of want and or need. Isabelle didn't think anything of it though, and returned the kiss with an even greater form of need. Isabelle could hear someone clear their throughout loudly from her right side. She turned her head swiftly to Magnus, who was swaying beside James and likewise Alec on the other side of him.

"I don't think your brother appreciates the public act of deprivation you're showing," Magnus stated, only loud enough for Isabelle to hear. Isabelle scowled rather playfully at him, but knew that he was right. Isabelle linked her arm through William's and then proceeded to drag him away from the small group of friends over to a backdoor. As they began to near it Isabelle noticed that Camille, Sebastian, Johnathan and Simon were standing around in a small circle.

"Hey, what's going on here?" William asked as they neared the group. Simon jerked his head up with a giddy look on his face, and upon seeing Isabelle the smile dropped instantly.

"We're divvying up who gets what right now—" Camille turned to William, flashing a bottle of Smirnoff in one hand. "—Oh! Oh! I want the Corona as well." She leaned forward into the small circle they had made and snatched a bottle out of Johnathan's hands.

"Anyone up for some games?" Sebastian smirked and held up a couple more bottles.

"What kind of games?" Isabelle stepped forward, confident in every movement she took. "A simple round of did you ever?" She smirked and held out her hand, palm up, in gesture for Sebastian to pass her a bottle. He returned her smirk lazily, and from Isabelle's peripheral she could see Simon shaking his head. Not that Isabelle was paying attention to what Simon did, or anything...

"Out back though, we don't want to get caught." Sebastian pushed on the backdoor, and a wave of cool air stung the fine hairs on Isabelle's arms. The temperature dropped surprisingly fast, and now it had began to rain. But the rain wasn't going to stop Isabelle from having a little bit of fun. They all followed Sebastian out of the door and into the dark night, onto the large grassy field. There was no one outside, besides them, everyone else was subject to staying inside of the large dome shaped gymnasium. Sebastian walked them over to the middle of the vast field, the rain was falling in small sputters—soaking through Isabelle's dress slowly.

Johnathan and Sebastian had the bulk of the drinks in their hands, and placed them in the middle of the grass. Then they all sat down campfire style, although it was decidedly harder for Camille and Isabelle to do so. Isabelle was nestled in between Simon and William, and was sitting across from Camille, Sebastian and Johnathan, respectively. "That better not be everything you guys got from Sage's," William pointed to the pile in the middle of them.

"Nah, the rest is back in Gideon's car." Johnathan indicated, and leaned back on the palms of his hands.

"Let's start," Camille clapped her hands together and then brushed a stray strand of platinum blonde hair over her bare shoulder. They each picked up a selective bottle of their own and unscrewed the caps. "I've never made out with a girl."

"Yeah right," Johnathan raised his bottle of Patron to his lips, taking a quick swig. The rest of them followed his actions except for Isabelle. Camille scowled at Johnathan, her emerald green eyes glittered in the moonlight overhead. "That one was too easy,"

"It was an icebreaker. What, you want me to go into questions about threesomes or something?" Camille said exasperatedly, throwing her hands up briefly.

"Yeah, lets go with that. I've never had a threesome!" Johnathan declared, trailing his eyes all around the group. Only Sebastian took a quick drink, and Isabelle gaped widely at him—as did everyone else.

"What? Is that really that hard to believe coming from me?" Sebastian scoffed, folding his arms across his chest, while his left hand still held his bottle. No one said anything and continued to stare at their own bottles and hands in their laps. "Exactly," Sebastian muttered after a short time eclipsed between them. "Okay, I've never had sex on the first date." They all waited to see who would take a swig of their drinks, and surprisingly Isabelle and Simon were the only ones to do so. Isabelle glanced at Simon quickly after she had lowered her bottle, and caught his gaze instantly. She flushed hotly with color and quickly looked away.

"Uhh..." Simon hesitated for a moment, considering what it was that he was going to say. "I've never been in love?" William took a slow sip of his drink, and Isabelle gaped at him.

"Who have you been in love with?" Isabelle whispered frantically, leaning over closer to him.

"No one you should concern yourself with," William said dismissively.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Isabelle huffed, while William just shook his head. Johnathan and Camille glanced in between the pair of William and Isabelle, and curtly decided to leave the group taking Sebastian with them who was attempting to balance all of the bottles in his waiting arms.

"What? Is it some sort of secret I'm not allowed in on?" Isabelle squared her expression, quirking her left eyebrow high in defiance. She felt apprehension wave off of William strongly; why didn't he want to tell her? Surely, they weren't the closest people in the world, despite how physically close they may have become over the past few weeks. But this little piece of information shouldn't have been that important to be kept secret.

"Absolutely. Whoever I love will be kept with me. You don't need to know, Isabelle," William shook his head exasperatedly, rising from his spot on the rain slicked grass to stand. Isabelle got to her feet a second later, sizing him up—although she was at least a foot smaller than him. Her head came to the height of the top of his chest—his collarbones. But nevertheless she was determined to stand her ground, if not feel a bit more superior than him.

"Love hey? You _love _someone, that isn't me." Isabelle starred into his eyes, finding... Nothing. He was disastrously good at keeping his emotions at bay and hidden from everyone else.

"Isabelle—"

"It's Izzy," Isabelle interjected venomously.

"_Izzy,_" William drawled out her name. His eyes shifted past her shoulder, and his gaze became locked on whatever was behind her. She rolled her eyes pointedly—not that he would have noticed in that moment—and turned her head to see what he was looking at. At the same moment she was surprised to find Simon still waiting patiently on the grass—for what? Isabelle had no idea—twiddling his thumbs in his lap. She was also surprised to see Magnus tugging Alec behind him across the court yard in front of the school, up the grand staircase. They were too far away to notice Isabelle, William and Simon out in the field.

"Uhm, that's probably nothing... I mean, I think they had some Biology things to finish up, or something." Isabelle attempted to cover, and absent-mindedly fiddled with the end of her braid. She was never good at coming up with the best covers for her brothers, she rather liked to stay away from having to do so.

"I have to go," William said hastily as he made his way over to the far side of the school, both not in the direction that Magnus and Alec had fled to, and not in the direction of the Homecoming dance. His dark form faded into the night quickly, and before long he became a blur of a figure, escaping into the darkness of the night.

"Hey, Iz," Simon placed his hand on top of her shoulder, causing her to shiver in an unexpected way.

"Why did you wait around?" She whispered, casting her head downwards.

"What?" Simon took his hand off of her bare shoulder and to Isabelle's astonishment he came to stand in front of her, crooking his index finger underneath her chin, pushing it up to bring her to eye level with him. That was one thing Isabelle admired about Simon, he would always go out of his way to make Isabelle feel as if she were an equal to him; that she could have the same power he had at any given moment. There was something about Simon though, that made her so frustrated but then nervous at the same time; causing her to act so irrationally in his presence. He was kind; a kindness she had never seen from any guy that had approached her in her life. It scared her nonetheless, but it also made her feel like he _was _someone to always trust.

"I said, why did you wait around?" She raised her voice at him, although she didn't exactly mean to. She was still a bit disgruntled by William's aversion to telling her the truth. And if she were honest with herself, she was phased by the fact that he _loves _someone else at the present moment, that wasn't her.

"I don't know Iz, I just..." Simon straightened his glasses on the bridge of his nose anxiously. "William, he's a good guy and all, but I don't think he's the right guy for you..." Simon said breathlessly, his voice a faint whisper. The change in topic caught Isabelle off guard swiftly.

"And you think you know who is?" Isabelle asked through gritted teeth. She didn't want to be there, in the rain with Simon of all people.

"I don't _think _I know Izzy," he leaned closer to her face, and for some reason Isabelle didn't have the nerve in her body to move. She knew what came next and internally she was battling with herself. "Iz," Simon breathed, their faces mere centimetres away from one another. His breath was hot, minty, and crisp from the Morgan he had, had. It ghosted over Isabelle's lips delicately, engulfing her mind in a haze. "Is this okay?" He asked sweetly.

"Yes," she sighed steadily and took the initiative closing the short distance in between them. Their lips met passionately; a passion Isabelle had never experienced before. Simon trailed his hand around to the back of her head, holding her calmly at the nape of her neck, while his other hand trailed down to the small of her back. He didn't over step his boundaries in any way, and Isabelle was glad for that—it had been a long time since a guy hadn't taken advantage of what was laid out in front of them.

Isabelle raised her hands to his arms, the only thing that could keep her steady at the moment besides his arm around her waist. This was a kiss to remember; the way their lips moved fluidly against one another, as if they were trying to memorize the ways in which the other liked to be kissed. Isabelle slipped her tongue along the crease of Simon's lips, a needy gesture in asking for more—in which Simon complied by opening his mouth, letting her tongue move against his.

Isabelle whimpered as Simon picked her up from the ground, now holding her around the waist with both of his arms, wrapping her up in a sort of beautiful escape. Her heart was pounding miles and miles per second; her blood coursing hot and fast through her veins. And then it hit her: this was Simon she was kissing, Simon who—god only knows why—could make Isabelle so mad one second and completely blown away the next. This was Simon who, if she were to admit it, made her day that much more exciting and thrilling, bringing out the things in Isabelle that she thought she had kept safely locked away within herself years ago. But... _This was Simon. _

She opened her eyes sharply; her eyelashes brushing against his glasses. She pushed on his arms strongly, pushing him away from her body. It took a second for the both of them to catch their breath, and when they did Simon looked at her, astonishment lacing his features. Isabelle knit her eyebrows tightly together and placed her hands on either side of her hips. She began to realize again that the rain continued to pour wildly around them now, and that her dress and hair were soaked. "Don't ever do that again," she yelled, with an impassive look on her face.

Simon's shoulders fell at that moment; drooping downwards as if he were defeated. He trailed his right hand through the mess of brown hair that was dripping with rain water, shaking his head briefly. "God Iz, when will you ever begin to realize?"

"Realize what?" Isabelle shouted, heightening the pitch of her voice more so.

"That there are good guys out there that care for you Iz! That not all guys are just looking to get something from you, but that there are some looking to give _you _everything. Because that's what you deserve, Iz." Simon equalled her aggressive tone of voice, and then without another word, stalked his way over to the entrance that led back into the gymnasium. Isabelle was left speechless, to a degree, watching Simon leave. Now, she was just a girl standing alone in the middle of the field, with the rain beating down around her.

* * *

><p><em>"Underneath the Stars"<em>

"Jace slow down, where are we going?" Clary giggled sweetly as she attempted to keep up with Jace's vigorous pace around the side of the gymnasium building. He clasped her small hand tightly—not so tight that it hurt her, but tight enough to make her feel as if she weren't some fragile girl. In her other hand she held her high heels, having ditched them once they made their way outside and into the dark rain soaked night.

"You'll see," he looked back at her over his shoulder and winked. His appearance was amazing that night, Clary thought to herself. He was her golden guy, no matter how stupid that deemed to sound. Jace was hers, and she couldn't thank the heavens more to know that he would always be there for her. Even if Jace continued to make Clary frustrated with his adverse ways to keep her from doing anything too reckless, she could only think that everything he did was because he loved her. He _loved _her—or at least that is what he had told her three days previous to the Homecoming dance. And she had said it back.

Their romance was a sort of whirlwind, because although it was decidedly short and scattered, Clary would never feel the way she did about Jace with anyone else. She knew that, whenever she gazed into his eyes seeing that equal amount of happiness and love reciprocated back to her. When they were together, it was them, and only them. No one else seemed to really matter, because as long as they had each other everything would be fine.

"I mean it Jace, tell me where we're going." Clary tried to add weight onto his pull, forcefully impeding him from moving without difficulty. Sure he played both Soccer and Football, but Clary was going to make him withstand the strength of his girlfriend. Jace sighed and swung back to meet her body halfway. He pressed his chest up against hers and leaned down to give her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Clary, do you... Trust me?" Jace asked sheepishly, definitely uncharacteristic of how he usually was. That alone made Clary widen her eyes in sudden uncertainty. The air around them became serious instantly and Clary pursed her lips.

"Jace what's going on?" She asked, searching his liquid golden eyes.

"Nothing bad, baby. I just..." Jace stopped and let out a deep gust of air. Clary raised her palm to the side of his face, reassuring him with a soft smile. "I just wanted to give all of myself to you." He didn't dare look into her eyes after he had said that, and Clary felt her face heat up with sudden anticipation.

"You mean... You want to..." Clary tried to decipher her scattered thoughts at the moment, not making too much sense of where they were headed. Jace sighed and then released her hand from his grasp, stepping back from her.

"Yes Clary, I love you. I want to give you myself, because that's the greatest thing I can give you. Nothing compares to that. No chocolate, or flower, or jewelry could ever compare to giving myself to you." He said with such finality, that there was no other way to look at the words he spoke. Clary flushed with heat again, because this was the boy she loved and this is what she wanted. She wanted this.

"Okay," she whispered, taking one step closer to him.

"And I'm not trying to pressure you. I'm just telling you, because Clary I've wanted you for so long, and you just have to know how I feel—"

"Okay," she whispered again.

"Clary you mean the whole world to me. And I'm not just saying that to yenno... Get in your pants or whatever. Because truthfully I will walk away from this more than awkward conversation feeling relieved that I have at least told you how I feel." Jace said hurriedly. Clary began to laugh to herself with a bright gleeful smile on her face. Jace picked his head up to the sound of her laugh, and gazed at her questioningly. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because you haven't been listening to me." She rolled her eyes playfully and took a few more steps towards Jace so that their chests' were pressed together once again. "I said okay. Jace I love you too. I want this too." she stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him shyly on the lips. Jace smiled into the kiss and reached down—grabbing Clary around the backs of her thighs so he could hoist her up into his arms. Clary latched her arms around his neck, threading her hands into his soft—now damp—golden curls. Jace began to walk over to the bleachers which were secluded on the other side of the massive field behind the gymnasium.

Underneath them they found a dry patch of grass, that was partially illuminated by the luminous stars and moons overhead. Jace bent down to lay Clary against the grass, making certain that she was comfortable enough. Everything left Jace's and Clary's mind at the moment as they stared at one another, mapping out the plains of each others faces. They began to kiss again, but this time with much more vigorous actions, running their hands all over one anothers bodies, trailing along all the curves and dips of their skin. Jace shrugged off his deep indigo pinstripe jacket, and then with Clary's help his shirt was pulled over his head.

Clary ran her hands down Jace's chest, stopping just shy of the waist band of his pants. She popped the button open, indicating to Jace that she wanted this, as much as he wanted this. He let his hands trail around her, to slowly unzip the seam to her beautiful green dress which brought out all the fiery colors of crimson, copper, and scarlet in her hair and cheeks. Once she was out of her dress, he took to ravishing her body, kissing her wherever she let him go. Minutes later they had both discarded of their clothes and without hesitation they made love to one another—something neither one of them had ever experienced before. Higher and Higher both of them climbed, reaching that satiable place of pure bliss. And as they cascaded over the edge, falling beside one another, both breathing rapidly but deeply to calm down their hearts, they both realized the ramifications of what they had just done.

But neither of them dared to say anything. Because in that moment they had given themselves to one another, and nothing was going to destroy that for them.

* * *

><p><em>"Was that what he was?"<em>

"I love being able to hold your hand," Alec smirked as he tightened his fingers around Magnus', and at the same time he pulled Magnus even closer to his body.

"Mmm, don't I know it." Magnus purred as he continued to lead Alec to the far end of the deserted school. He caressed his thumb over top of Alec's knuckles, loving the heat that his hands brought with them. While Magnus' skin was always cold—Alec's was always hot, and somehow that balanced out everything perfectly.

Magnus hadn't known if the large doors leading into the Academy were going to be open or not—at first he highly doubted it—but low and behold they were unlocked to Magnus' pleasure and relief. He had plans for Alec, plans that he haphazardly put together in his own mind that very morning before he had went over to Alec's house. The contrast of their estate as compared to the Bane estate was lighter—if that even made sense? When Magnus was inside his own home, he felt pounds of dread weigh down on his unstable shoulders, but at Alec's house he felt uplifted, the weights releasing their hold on him, because in truth that house reminded him of the home he once had.

He couldn't help taking quick glances at Alec beside him—marvelling greatly in his appearance. Alec was absolutely breathtaking in the all black number which showed off the large muscles in his legs; and the jacket showing the curve to Alec's back. Oh... What Magnus wanted to do with Alec right then and there. No doubt Magnus' heart contracted whenever he was blessed with a blush from Alec or a simple laugh, but it was the daunting smirks Alec adorned when they were alone or the biting of his bottom lip—that sent Magnus into a rush of crazed hormones working against him.

They walked along the dark hallways—where the only light came from the moon seeping through the skylights overhead—in relative silence; which Magnus liked, because with Alec everything was _comfortable, _and he quite enjoyed 'comfortable' a lot.

"Magnus?" Alec said anxiously, tilting his head to the side to regard Magnus with watchful hazy blue eyes. He began to bite the bottom of his thin pink lip shyly—Alec would never understand what that subtle quirk did to Magnus. It was his undoing; it unravelled all of Magnus' sense, turning him into complete putty—in some sense. That lip bite would take Alec far, because in that moment Magnus would have let Alec do anything to him. That was how much of a hold Alec had over Magnus now. Before he would have stood his ground and would have not let Alec get so close to him—so close that he would begin to trust Alec greatly. But that was all changing now.

"Stop biting your lip Alexander," Magnus said huskily, stopping them in the middle of one of the many abandoned hallways of the Academy. He leaned over quickly and bit Alec's bottom lip for himself, before planting a heated chaste kiss on his lips. "What is it?" He asked as a sort of after thought; resuming their walk down to the far end of the school.

"W—What are we?" Alec stuttered, sucking in a sharp breath as color flooded his cheeks.

"Friends with benefits?" Magnus offered nonchalantly. Alec paled—if that was even remotely possible—and froze in his movements, jerking Magnus back a little bit. He let his mouth fall slack open to Magnus' suggestion; his eyebrows raising high on his forehead. "I'm just kidding, Alexander." Magnus laughed as he saw all of the visible tension leave Alec's toned and muscled body.

"So you would say that I was your...?" Alec trailed off waiting for Magnus to finish for him—which he gladly did so.

"Boyfriend." Magnus stated. That word resonated throughout Magnus' body like a beautiful surge of energy. It felt... Nice knowing that they both wanted to place a definite label on themselves; more than _nice. _This was quite possibly the first time Magnus had consider the possibility of a long term relationship—although he didn't want to get ahead of himself just yet—with anyone. He wanted everything with _his _blue eyed boy; and he was determined to make anything and everything happen. Alec was someone he wasn't ever willing to let go, and he planned to keep it that way as long as different factors didn't come into play.

"Yeah?" Alec asked, really only to make sure everything was solidified. He had a boyish grin on his face, while his lake blue eyes lit up wondrously.

"Yes Alexander. You're my boyfriend," he unclasped Alec's hand and raised both of his, now free, hands to either side of Alec's face. He tilted his head forward and brushed his nose against Alec's. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." Magnus kissed his lips, this time it spawned much deeper, causing both of them to lose their breath fast—but they didn't care. The rush of kissing one another was a much needed experience at the moment. Alec slipped his hands down Magnus' torso, placing them on his butt, gripping and pulling him softly against his body. They were both extremely comfortable with one another's bodies—nothing seemed to be so taboo whenever they were kissing each other like this. It was carnal—all heat and lust mixed together, forcing them closer and closer.

However, it was the emotional parts of their lives that proved to be a difficulty, seeing as they both weren't too fond on sharing those parts just yet, but Magnus knew Alec was willing to wait for him—and likewise Magnus would wait for Alec. Because that is what you do in a relationship, you don't push people into being submissive with their fears, you wait until they find you worthy enough. And Magnus wouldn't want it to be any different. They had to trust each other, trust that all the things one another did, no matter how frustrating it could get, that they would be able to have faith in better days and that they could get past every bump in the road.

Magnus stepped out of Alec's reach, letting his hands fall back to his sides, and seconds later intertwining his right hand with Alec's left again. "Why are we so far, at the back of the school?" Alec curiously asked, his voice lower than usual. The palms of Alec's hands were sweating intensely—with apprehension Magnus guessed, which made him smile that he was making Alec very nervous.

"Well, considering how cute you get with how impatient you are, I'll give you a little hint," Magnus deviously smirked.

"Go on," Alec prodded, raising their interlocked hands out in front of them.

"Hmm, think about the pen." Magnus shrugged as they abruptly turned a corner into a hallway which was completely dark, save for a small emergency light positioned above the music room door: Magnus' current and only destination.

"_A pen Magnus. _What pen?" Alec furrowed his eyebrows in concentration and tipped his head to the side again to stare at Magnus incredulously. "I have no idea what that means..." Alec placed his free hand on the back of his neck, and began to rub it gently, up, then down, then up again. "Yenno, you're terrible at giving hints."

"_No. _You're terrible at figuring them out. My hint is completely reasonable." Magnus diminished and quickened his pace down the lowly lit hall. His heart beat picked up tenfold as they got closer and closer. This was something he felt like he needed to do, for both himself and Alec—but nevertheless it created a deep pit filled with anxiety in the base of his mind.

"A pen," Alec muttered laughing to himself. The laugh Magnus so famously loved: hiccuping noises conceding in random patterns. The music room door loomed in front of them; it looked taller for some reason to Magnus, more ominous. "The music room?" Magnus nodded and with a silent prayer pushed on the door handle, sighing a fresh breath of relief that it too had been kept unlocked. He had counted substantially on Mrs. Morgenstern's less than diligent nature—hoping that she would forget to lock up her classroom, as she always did. Magnus dragged Alec into the wide room, making his way over to the grey riser steps.

"Sit, lovely." He beckoned Alec forward, and kissed him sweetly on the cheek before Alec obliged and sat down. "Turn around a bit and enjoy the show," Magnus whispered before he made his way back to the door, shutting it, firmly locking it, then turning on one of the light switches that illuminated the grand piano. Magnus walked gracefully in the direction of the piano, flexing his fingers out a bit as anxiety began to seep into his veins, taking over all of his senses at the moment. He sat down on the bench and raised the cover, cracking the joints within his fingers a bit before he positioned them to start.

"Hey!" Alec yelled from behind him on the riser steps. Magnus turned with a playful smirk on his face as Alec folded his arms over his ample chest—his expression bemused. "You said you didn't play anything. And I guessed piano! When you were tapping your pen on your paper that day in Bio," Alec gazed at Magnus with a steely look to his eyes and Magnus dauntingly held his stare. After a few moments Alec's eyes began to soften and he made a silent 'O' shape with his mouth. "That's where the pen comes in..."

"Are you going to let me play for you? I must say, I don't mind sitting here and having a starring war with those baby blues, but this was the plan—the surprise." Magnus said hurriedly, his fingers still poised to start playing. Alec bit his bottom lip coyly. "That's distracting, lovely." Magnus sighed, letting his eyes slip shut for a moment.

"Sorry." Alec whispered softly. "Play," he practically begged with a small smile tugging at the left corner of his mouth. Magnus quickly turned his head away from Alec—not wanting to waste anymore time on starring at him—and took to the piano as if it were his second nature; which essentially it was. He let his fingers glide wondrously over top of the ebony and ivory keys, building up slowly to a steep crescendo. His notes weren't refined as they usually were when he had played in front of classmates; instead everything was so fluid—it was as if he were dancing his fingers around water. At first he held back, not fully trusting what could come about playing in front of Alec, but he instantly eased into it, letting the sound and faint hum of the piano keys engulf his senses.

This is what he did; what his hands were made for, and he was completely elated that he found it within himself to play for Alec. This was another piece and likewise another step forward with them, even if it wasn't as significant to Alec—it spoke tremendous volumes to Magnus; because this was the gift he was given by his beautiful, bright yellow-hazel eyed, woman and he didn't readily like to share that with just anyone. And then Magnus smirked because he realized in that moment that Alec really wasn't _just anyone. _

He felt warm hands tickle the fine hairs on the nape of his neck, pulling him out of the chords he had been playing. He turned his head back and up, meeting Alec's hooded gaze. Alec clasped Magnus' hand within his own and jerked him abruptly off of the bench—forcefully pulling him against his body. Magnus gasped slightly at the sudden movements placing his hand on Alec's black suit clad arm. "Why didn't you tell me you could play?" Alec lowly asked, his voice a sheer whisper. He gazed into Magnus' eyes with an expression Magnus couldn't quite decipher—it was beautifully menacing; threatening; promising. The heat that wavered off of his body was intoxicating to Magnus and only spurred on his desire to get closer to Alec.

"My mom," Magnus choked out, although he didn't mean for it to come out that way. "She taught me how to play, and I... I don't like sharing that part of me." Magnus shrugged and quirked his left eyebrow high, gripping Alec's arm more so. In response Alec trailed his hand down to the subtle curve of Magnus' hips and dug his fingers into the light grey fabric of his suit. Alec bent his head down a bit and placed a small fleeting kiss on the base of Magnus' neck. He began to pepper light kisses everywhere; nipping feverishly once he hit Magnus' defined jaw line. "Alexander," Magnus groaned as he placed his hands on Alec's shoulder blades. "Alexander, there's—" he had to stop for a moment, taking a shuddering breath as Alec deftly started to undo the front buttons on Magnus' dress jacket. "—Something I needed to tell you."

Alec gazed up at Magnus, his lake blue eyes darkened substantially in color. They were filled with lust and desire—it was evident to Magnus' at that point. Magnus sighed loudly looking over Alec's features, committing them to memory for the hundredth time. "Magnus, we can talk later." Alec said pointedly, twisting Magnus' body as he ventured on to walking Magnus backwards until his back hit the wall. He placed his lips onto Magnus' softly, a chaste kiss of the sorts, with a smile. Magnus cocked his head to the side wondrously, questioning where Alec was going with this. Then to Magnus' surprise Alec deepened the kiss more so, surging the breath completely out of Magnus' lungs and trailed the tips of his fingers up the inside of Magnus' thigh.

Magnus' eyes were open, wide and anxious as he felt all of his senses and thoughts go slack. He began to tremble in his knees as Alec's hand continued to tease his inner thigh; sighing, Alec covertly slid his tongue into Magnus' mouth running it across the slicked heat of Magnus' tongue—making him shiver wildly. _Where were they going with this? _Was quite possibly the last fleeting thought that crossed Magnus' mind before he began to undo the dark silver buttons on the front of Alec's jacket, pushing it off of his arms—without breaking the kiss—and it fell to the ground. Alec helped Magnus out of his pale grey jacket completely and started to unclasp the cuff links around his wrists, so that it was easier—once he had unbuttoned Magnus' dress shirt, and removed his tie—to expose Magnus' chest fully.

Magnus still had on the pendant his father had bought him a week after his mother had passed away. It contained a picture of all three of them, when Magnus was much, much younger. He tended to wear the pendant in a time of need—mainly for reassurance that he was still here, and that one day his mother would be close to him and his father again. Magnus' expelled the thoughts of his mother from his mind as Alec returned to ravishing his neckline, sucking steadily on his throbbing pulse point. Words weren't passed between them, mainly it was moans and deep groans as they trailed their hands everywhere on each other. After a few moments they both stood in front of each other, bare chested, their shoes kicked off, heaving deep gasps of air as they tried to regain composure.

"Should we... Er, be doing... What were doing?" Alec asked pensively, biting his lower lip—whether it was on purpose or not Magnus didn't know. "Are we b—being logical?"

"Screw logic," Magnus hissed, and clasped Alec's face between his hands, bringing him down so that their lips met again in a searing hot kiss. Alec placed his left hand on the wall right next to Magnus' head, and with the other he made a slow decent down the right side of Magnus' body. He brushed the tips of his fingers over the waist band of Magnus' pants, and before Magnus could even register what was happening, he popped the button open and slid down the zipper. Magnus whimpered into Alec's mouth, and threaded his hands into Alec's hair, twisting thick locks of charcoal black around his fingers.

Alec tugged Magnus' pants off of his hips, revealing the defined lines of his 'V'. The fabric pooled around his ankles; he stepped out of them moments later as Alec began to make work of his own pants—this confident side to Alec, Magnus could get strongly used to. He liked when Alec subjected himself to take control and just go after the things he wanted. And maybe Alec was only like that when he was around Magnus—but Magnus didn't mind at all. Once Alec was rid of his pants, Magnus took the lead after that and pressed their hips together, arching his back off of the wall. Alec groaned at the same time of Magnus, because they hadn't been this far yet, and the fact that the flimsy pieces of cotton boxer shorts were the only things restricting them, amplified both of their desires.

To Magnus utter astonishment Alec brushed his hand over the now evident bulge in Magnus' boxers, causing Magnus' to gasp loudly against Alec's lips. A little dry-humping—for a lack of better words—was something Magnus was more or less expecting, but _this _definitely caught Magnus off guard. Alec stroked his fingers, a bit hesitantly over the bulge. _"Shit,"_ Magnus hissed and threw his head back against the wall. On impulse his body arched itself further into Alec's waiting fingers. Alec gaped at Magnus, wide-eyed, obviously he wasn't sure if what he was doing was right and then it hit Magnus that Alec definitely hadn't done anything merely close to what he was doing to Magnus, with anyone else. Not in the sense that he hadn't fondled a guy before, but in the sense that Alec was new to being overly sexual with just about anyone.

Magnus brushed the pad of his thumb over Alec's cheek, and cupped his jaw line, giving him a small smile before brushing his lips softly over Alec's. He peppered kisses all along the underside of Alec's jaw, coming to a halt to suckle on Alec's earlobe. He bit down on the sensitive skin and at the same time placed his hand around Alec's member, stroking him ever so slowly through the fabric of his black boxers. Alec cried out in pleasure, whispering Magnus' name silently as a sort of mantra as he picked up in speed. In a rush of confusion Alec had dropped soundlessly to his knees in front of Magnus, causing Magnus' body to still under the predicament, his blood coursing wildly and hotter than he could ever imagine in his veins. His mouth was slack open and his eyebrows had shot up considerably.

Alec took to placing heated kisses over Magnus' torso; nipping and sucking wherever he found fit to do so. His pale sweaty hands were on either side of Magnus' hips—his thumbs hooked just underneath the thin waistband. "God, Alec." Magnus let his eyes slip shut; his chest heaving greatly—almost painfully. _"Make me forget, please. Distract me, yes, be my distraction," _Magnus purred as all coherent thought escaped his mind.

"What?" Alec sharply picked his head up, disregarding the previous descent he was making with his lips and tongue over Magnus' torso. Magnus opened his eyes and shifted up a bit leaning back against the wall more so. Now, suddenly, the heat of the moment was slowly dispersing. Magnus took stalk of their situation with a less than muddled mind; he was pushed up against the wall, his shirt off, laying somewhere he couldn't see, and his pants discarded on the ground with Alec's. Alec was kneeling on the ground in front of him with his shirt off as well—the expanse of his pale muscled chest and arms made Magnus lick his lips. That sight alone did Magnus in and he was more than aroused. But, it was the expression on Alec's face that sobered him quickly.

"Hmm?" Magnus pursed his lips out of vindication.

"Is that what I am to you? A... _A distraction?_" Alec cocked his head to the side, his face crest fallen.

"What? Alexander—"

"No Magnus, you said it. You said _'be my distraction'. _That's what I am for you. A way for you to forget about things." Alec rose to his feet, his eyes the color of storm water, glinting.

"Back up Alexander. Why is this getting blown way out of proportion?" Magnus raised his voice slightly; anger seeped into his mind slowly as Alec started to gather his clothes—stepping into his dress pants one leg at a time.

"Because Magnus, I want to be so much more to you! And here I thought I was, but I'm a—distraction." Alec sighed, dipping his head down, he said in a whisper, "I don't want that," and placed his arms through his black button up.

"_Alexander," _Magnus snapped, scowling as he too began to get dressed. He knew that one of the faintest of reasons why he was getting so angry was because of how sexually frustrated he was. But the bigger problem, that made him even more frustrated was the fact that Alec wouldn't let him explain, or the fact that he didn't recognize that, that had just slipped out of Magnus' mouth on a whim.

"Magnus," Alec cut him off before he could interject. "I—I don't think you understand..."

"I don't think _you _understand either." Magnus said through gritted teeth, fisting his tie back around his neck. Alec shook his head, his shoulders slumped down considerably—sadly. He crossed the room to the other side, where the door was a grasped the handle. "What, you're just going to leave?" Magnus couldn't keep the opium out of his tone. Alec didn't look back to regard him, his hand just tightened on the handle of the door and he pulled it open.

"I'll talk to you soon, Magnus." Alec sighed and left the room wistfully.

* * *

><p><em>"I dare you to"<em>

Alec walked faster than he usually would at any given time down the darkly lit hallway, twisting through the different halls and archways, making sure that he would upset the path that he and Magnus took to get to the music room. He chastised himself for being so stupid—so selfish—but his emotions were running haywire and he knew he had to get out of there as fast as he could.

"Alec, fancy seeing you here." A deep sarcastic voice travelled to Alec's ears as he stalked down another lowly lit hall, studiously tucking his button up more so into the front of his pants. He halted in his steps and turned around. William was leaning against one of the floor to ceiling lockers; his silhouette against the locker was ashy; he was almost unrecognizable, as if he were the dust and shadows within the hall. A slow scattered chill cascaded down Alec's back, making him cringe slightly. The only color visible on William, in startling contrast, were his deep blue eyes—much like Alec. Otherwise his skin was a hushed Carmel tone, his hair was as black as midnight, cut perfectly—falling across his forehead in a none forced lazy manner.

"Will," Alec replied in the quiet stillness of the hallway—he didn't know where to go on from there. Speaking with William—especially alone—wasn't something Alec took a fond liking to, and he didn't want to make a sport out of it.

"Where were you coming from? You look... Distraught." William pointed out with a slight smirk to his lips edging himself away from the locker; walking closer and closer to Alec. They were evenly matched in height, standing both a little over six feet tall.

"That's... None of your business." Alec stated, his words clipped and bleak.

"I saw you come in here with Magnus," William waved his hand in the air, gesturing around them. "Did you two have a fight or something?"

"Again Will, that is none of your business." Alec's face was blank; his voice ominously emotionless. His mind wasn't anywhere at the moment really—when it should have been concentrated on Magnus. He felt himself straying to other things, hardly being able to pay attention. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides, trying to divert all of the tension in his body there.

"I bet it was a fight, a pretty nasty one two. Seeing as you two have been having quite the worldly friendship," Alec gazed at William pensively. _He couldn't know about them... Could he? _Alec thought, as his heart dropped to his stomach and the air in his lungs felt like it had been punched out. William registered the distress on Alec's face, evidently, and continued. "I mean, in the respect that you two are always hanging out now of days."

"Oh yeah..." Alec relaxed. "Well we did have a fight, and I'd really like to go. Are we done here?"

"No." William replied instantly.

"No?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Magnus actually." William raised his index finger to his bottom lip, and began to stroke it softly back and forth. "You have an effect on him, and I don't think I like it that much."

"What? Are you kidding me?" Alec asked. He was astonished to even be having this conversation with William.

"I'm just saying I don't like it, that's all. I also seem to think Magnus could be using you for something..." William quirked his left eyebrow ever so subtly. Alec felt his lungs contract as the air was forced out of him. _How could William know? _Alec shook his head as if he were trying to expel everything from his own mind.

"That's not true, Magnus would never use me. He isn't like that." Alec choked out the words really, because as he said them he began to take in the hypocritical view point of what he had just did a mere fifteen minutes ago.

"Oh trust me, I know him a lot better than you do. I'm his best friend after all, and he's using you. I don't know what for, but I can see why he would go after you for whatever game he's playing." William slid his arms across his chest, folding them over top one another. He arched his back, and a slow sly smirk crawled its way onto his lips.

"Oh? Do tell me." Alec rolled his eyes at William, and was surprised by his bluntness.

"You're meek, fragile, and naive." Those words resonated inside of Alec's head like a delicate memory. Those were the words that Magnus had called Alec on the first day of school when they were placed as Biology partners. It was as if William were taking a fine needled knife and cutting away at Alec slowly, deliberately trying to inflict that maximum amount of pain on him. Before Alec could even stop himself, let alone register what it was he was doing, he had pulled his clenched fist back and propelled it forward into the side of William's jaw.

William staggered back a few steps and gaped at Alec, his eyes wide with fury. Alec attempted to duck out of the way, but William's fist ended up connecting with Alec's nose, and instantly Alec felt stinging warm liquid pour down from his nose to his lips. He raised his hand in front of his face to block another punch and in doing so, William decided to take to his body and swung his fist with an even greater force into the side of Alec's ribs. Alec cried out in pain and was about to fall to the floor before William caught him in a sort of embrace.

"You're not going to tell anyone about this, I swear to god if you do Alec. We'll just stay away from each other from now on, won't we?" William asked, although Alec was less than willing to oblige seeing as he could only think about the blood pouring from his nose and the sharp pain at his side.

"Okay," he gasped out, coughing on the blood that had made it's way into his mouth.

"Wait here," William directed as he pushed Alec into a leaning position against one of the lockers. He escaped around a corner to Alec's left, leaving Alec in a state of total abasement. But before Alec could do anything else he had returned with a dozen or so tissues in his right hand, shaving it into Alec's hands and face. "I'll go tell Jace where to find you. But we have a deal right? No one is going to know that this was between you and me," William bore his eyes into Alec's and Alec had the decency to thank him quietly for the tissues. He tilted his head forward and breathed a slow 'ok' to William's request. "Good." And with that William left.

* * *

><p><em>"The end"<em>

Magnus stood there in the music room, shell shocked for possibly twenty minutes, desperately trying to think things over and see the situation from Alec's point of view. But really he was in too much of a heated fury to muddled anything over. What he had said hadn't even made sense to his own ears at the time, because he was so engrossed in what they were doing. Nothing he was thinking or saying was supposed to be coherent, and the fact that Alec couldn't see by now that he was so much more to Magnus, made him madder—disappointed even. What did he need to do to reassure Alec? What would make Alec see that he means a great deal to Magnus, that Magnus can't even describe most of the time how he feels for Alec—because it is like no other situation he has ever been in?

Magnus stretched his fingers into his spiked hair; closing his eyes in attempt to calm down. He didn't want to deal with any of this—especially considering what was bounding its way to Magnus in just a couple of hours. Everything felt so screwed up, and Magnus didn't want to feel like this; he needed to get out of here and lose himself in any way possible. Drinks, strong alcoholic drinks were indeed what he needed, and so with that he set off down the hall, retracing his steps back to the front of the school.

"Magnus," William said breathlessly from his left side, skidding to a halt out of one of the hallways. He had been running, it seemed.

"Jesus William, don't sneak up on me like that." Magnus said bemused, placing his hand over his heart in mock consideration. William smirked down at him.

"I saw a pretty disgruntled Alec walk out those doors a couple of minutes ago. What gives?" William questioned, walking along side Magnus as they continued out of the large front doors of the Academy and into the freshly dewy night. It seemed to have gotten ominously darker outside; the stars still littered the sky heavily, but now dark grey clouds were blocking out the delicate shine of the moon. The terrain was damp with the rain that had been falling earlier—now their wasn't a rain drop in sight.

"Nothing," Magnus sighed dismissively, not wanting to think about Alec anymore that night. The mere thought of him kept unravelling Magnus, in both a joyous and disheartening way. Magnus could see Jace and Clary making their way around the far side of the field, back along the wall of the dome shaped gym. Her curls were perfectly mussed in that way, that Magnus knew exactly what they had been up to. He smiled to himself thinking that, that could have been him!—had he not said what he had said. Now his face dropped, and he wanted to chastise himself for being so up one moment and then down the next.

William noticed Clary and Jace at the same time as Magnus. "Wait one second," he said before he ran quickly over to Jace. Magnus couldn't hear at all what they were saying but by the look on Jace's face he was taking, whatever William had to say, in with anxiety and fear. Once William was done talking to Jace, Jace kissed Clary on the top of her head, gave her hand a quick squeeze and darted across the court yard in their direction and into the school.

"What was that about?" Magnus quizzically gazed at William.

"Nothing you need to worry about." William muttered, and grabbed a hold of Magnus' elbow, gently, leading him over to the parking lot. "Can I ask you something Magnus?"

"Sure," Magnus shrugged. He was not his usual upbeat self, he needed those drinks fast; and it seemed as if William knew exactly what was on his mind because in the direction that they were headed Sebastian, Johnathan, Simon, Gideon and Gabriel were all standing around the back of Gideon's car where the drinks were supposed to be placed.

"You... You didn't tell him anything about the plan did you?"

"N—No I didn't." Magnus sighed, squaring his features.

"But you wanted to," William said accusingly, scoffing under his breath.

"Look Will—"

"Is he really worth is Magnus? Worth all the fret over?" William bore his eyes into Magnus' and Magnus had a regretfully hard time looking away. He shook his head slightly, a subtle tilt to the left and in William's eyes that was indication enough. Something nagged at the back of Magnus' mind though, and that was the fact that William's question sounded as if it had an undercut double meaning. He was hiding something from Magnus, and that something—Magnus feared—was possibly the key to the root of these problems and plans. "Well come on then, you look like you need a drink." He waved his arm leisurely indicating to the group in front of them, before striding away hastily. Magnus stood still in his spot for a couple of moments; his mind racing frantically with thoughts. He took that small amount of time he had to truthfully answer William's question—to himself—of, _'Is Alec worth it?'_

"You have no idea."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This took a great deal of time trying to incorporate everything so that it fit to the way I needed it to fit. I apologize now for the extremely long wait, and I know I'm not supposed to give any excuses, but there has been a recent death in my immediate family, so I needed some time off from writing. Not every question was supposed to be answered in this chapter, like: Who died? Who said I love you at the crack of midnight? (it wasn't Jace and Clary, because it isn't midnight yet when they are heading to Gideon's car). I do hope you guys liked this chapter though! I had both a joy to write this, and utter frustration. So please, please, tell me what you thought of it! I love seeing your guys' reviews, honestly it makes me so happy. And I'll be honest, the next chapter is written (not edited yet, of course) but reviews makes everything faster! Also, I just thought it might have been a good idea to tell you guys my tumblr (because that way if you have any questions or want to get updates from me when I'm taking too long, you can instantly reach me there!) it is: _'infernaldarkinstruments'_! Also more Jem next chapter (i miss him—do you guys?) **

**Review pretty please? This one will mean so much to me!**

**Amber,**


	36. Eleanor Rigby

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE **

_**Eleanor Rigby ** _

_"All the lonely people, Where do they all come from?  
>All the lonely people, Where do<em>_  
>they all belong?<em>_"_

* * *

><p>The paved ground was cold and damp beneath Magnus' feet as he walked slowly, ever so slowly, up the rounded driveway to his house. The blazing sun was now cascading against the horizon, bathing the sky in a luminous orange and pink glow—as the night sky shifted to day. He was walking bare foot along the drive, his perfectly shined dress shoes fell limp within the grasp of his right hand. His dark indigo button up hung open, exposing the expanse of his tawny chest; his hair was dishevelled to the point that on any other day he would have been embarrassed to be seen like that. The thick make-up around his eyes was smeared beyond belief down his cheeks, and his muscles ached.<p>

He felt empty; a feeling that made him want to curl up within himself, disappear for awhile and possibly—if he was lucky—never come back. The air was punched out of his lungs causing him to gasp and pant for even the faintest of breaths. _Everything _hurt, but at the same time Magnus couldn't feel anything; hear anything; smell anything—see anything but the image of his beautiful woman, twirling him around in the light of dawn; long brown wheat hair falling out of a tangled messy bun; a white toothy smile which could be deemed as infectious as tobacco was to a smoker. He could see her livid yellow-hazel eyes scuttle across his vision; somber and secretive—as they had always been.

Magnus felt another punch to his lungs and he raised his hand over his bare chest, in fear that he would die—that his heart would stop; but then the crisp wind around him picked up freshly fallen leaves from the ground and blew them towards his feet—releasing him from his mind. Because that's what this all was, his mind. Nevertheless he still found himself gasping for air, panting wildly in a way that made his rib bones ache with the insistent rattling of each jagged breath. No one had ever seen him like this—not even Sarah or Olive; William or James. He was at his most vulnerable, breaking down wistfully in front of his house.

He could feel hot tears sting at the back of his eyes, but they did not spill over. Palmer had always told him that he was strong—to stay strong—and he offered and or gave up all of his will power to keep from crying. Magnus was scared, so damn scared; because life seemed to go on without him; leaving him behind to pick up the irreplaceable pieces, that no matter what, he just couldn't seem to put back together. He shivered violently for a second as if a shrill whisper ghosted along the nape of his neck. This was it, another day out of the many years to come where Magnus was not who he intended to be.

He attempted to take deep and shallow breaths on rhythmic intervals, calming down the unsteady beat of his heat. He made his way up the slicked black steps to the ominous black front door. He didn't waste any more time outside—his father, that was who he needed to see, needed to be with; not his own thoughts. Rather loudly he dropped his shoes on the threshold, and limply—stumbling slightly—he made his way to the rear of the house, where Gerald would undoubtedly be in his office.

Magnus opened up the door to his fathers office slowly, as to not cause so much noise. Gerald was seated behind his desk, his face rested in his large tawny hands. The way his shoulders were bent told Magnus that Gerald was exhausted—for reasons Magnus couldn't even phantom just yet—and the quivering of his fingers against his forehead told Magnus he was in an unstable state of mind. His long black hair was pulled into a less than orderly pony-tail at the base of his neck, and he was dressed in a simple long sleeve black shirt with beige slacks.

Gerald gazed up the second Magnus had closed the door behind him, his ripe green eyes were clouded with red—redder than Magnus had ever seen them before. Gerald wasn't the type of person to show any other emotion besides pride and anger; the way he looked at Magnus made him cringe because this was so unlike his father. "Why haven't you answered your phone?" Gerald barked out, his voice raspy beyond belief as if he had been crying for hours. That was definitely not what Magnus was expecting from his father. He expected to talk to Gerald about his mother, to recollect together like they always did years previous... But Gerald was worried about Magnus' phone.

Magnus stepped further into the room and came to stand beside one of the white chairs that were situated in front of Gerald's desk. "I forgot it here around eight when I left for Homecoming," Magnus stated. Gerald shook his head and scoffed under his breath. "I'm sorry dad, I'll make sure to bring my phone everywhere from now on." Magnus sounded just the faintest bit whiny and sarcastic, but he didn't care at the moment. There were worse things than realizing that his father was mad at him for not having his phone.

"Magnus, Olive passed away last night." Gerald said in a very resisted voice; as if the actual words coming out of his mouth were words he couldn't fathom. Magnus felt his stomach lurch, and he placed his hand on the back of the sleek white chairs head rest to steady himself—for he knew he was going to fall. "I tried to call you, but alas you didn't pick up."

"What?" Magnus breathed, not fully taking in what Gerald was saying to him. No, this wasn't happening—this couldn't be happening. Olive, _Magnus' _Olive, was... Gone? No, this wasn't happening... It was all some sick twisted nightmare that Magnus had yet to wake up from.

"She's been sick for awhile," Gerald's voice was more resigned, he lowered his gaze back to his hands which were quivering against the top of his desk. "Sarah has been around a lot lately for you, in respect to Olive has she not?"

"Yes, but dad, she was _fine,_" Magnus voice cracked or more so shattered into a thousand pieces. "Just the other day, dad, she was fine!" His voice vibrated loudly off of the dome shaped room's, walls and ceilings. His heart was thumping wildly against his rib cage; and on the inside Magnus was screaming—screaming his lungs out for Olive; for his mother, Palmer.

"Magnus, she has been sick for the last few months. I wasn't informed until last month. She... She didn't know how long she had," Gerald shook his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thick index finger and thumb. "That's why I pushed back the Banquet, I didn't want to have her stressing over the event. I wanted her to have time to get better,"

"None of this is fair." Magnus whispered and tightly shut his eyes together; but nevertheless and rather relentlessly, tears began to pour out of his eyes; scorching hot tears that burned the fragile flesh of his cheeks as they fell. "Why is this happening?" Magnus' breath caught on a strong sob, and he covered his mouth with the back of his hand, in attempt to stifle back another sob that bubble up in the base of his throat.

"Sometimes in life Magnus, things happen to us that seem so unjust. And we get angry—trust me I would know—and we get upset, and decide to do irrational things." Magnus turned his back to his father and clasped his hand over his mouth even harder, to conceal the sobs that were breaking out of his mouth and racking his whole body. "I don't want that for you. You need to know that things won't always be this way. Things will get better." Gerald kept his tone of voice at bay the whole time, and Magnus knew it was because Gerald had to be the strong one between the two of them. Because truth be told, Magnus _was _a lot like his mother; in the respect that during hard times they both couldn't hide their emotions well. He thought over the years, being around Gerald only, that he had grown a strong back bone to emotions; but today proved to Magnus that he wasn't strong.

"No they won't!" Magnus blurted out after he had calmed down a bit. "Mom's gone dad, she hung herself! She's gone! And now Olive's gone too!" Magnus screamed at the top of his lungs, not being able to hold back the tears in his cracked broken voice. "I didn't get to say goodbye. Why didn't she tell me?" Magnus cried, his vision was completely blurry, all he could see was the outline of Gerald's structured body. As Magnus said those words he found himself at war with whether those words were directed towards Olive or his mother.

"She wanted to protect you—"

"How is this protecting me?" Magnus asked, his voice laced with opium.

"She didn't want you to have to worry about her, okay Magnus? Listen to me." Gerald was getting furious at that point it seemed; his cheeks were flushed with color and his eyes turned ferocious. "She wanted your life to continue on, where you didn't need to hold back because of her. Olive had some sense in what she did, in respect to us, compared to your mother." Gerald muttered the last part, while raking his thick fingers throughout his hair, releasing the pony-tail at the base of his neck.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother." Magnus snapped.

"She left us Magnus! Without any warning! How can I not be mad at her? How can I not hate her? How can I not be mad all the damn time? Do you know how many days I wish I was with her? But then I think of you, my only son, and how I would _never_ do that to you." Gerald stood up from his desk as he continued to shout, his eyes were a deadly mixture of ripe green sadness and anger. Every line to his face and body was hard etched and slightly shaking, if Magnus looked close enough. "Life doesn't work like _that _Magnus—you don't get to decide everyone else's happiness!"

"Mom wasn't happy," Magnus breathed out, as a fresh flood of tears collected in his eyes. This was all of the pent up sadness and frustration within Magnus that he had never had the chance to let out, until now. And he couldn't stop any of it for the life of him; and oddly enough he didn't want to. He felt liberated, but at the same time his body couldn't stop shaking from the news he had just been given.

"Yes Magnus, I know that. But she sacrificed our happiness for her own! That isn't fair Magnus, and I am so damn _mad. _She was—is the love of my life, and I had no choice whether she lived or not. Do you know how many times a day I want to punish myself for not making it home in time to stop her—to stop you from finding her, alone, like that? You're exactly like her, so strong willed, outspoken, free—and I can't bare it sometimes, I can't do it. God Magnus," Gerald turned his head away and shut his eyes quickly.

"Dad I'm angry too, and scared," this was quite possibly the first time Magnus and his father were being open with one another in such a way, that they should have always been. This was it, this was what they both needed—in order to fully understand one another. "But... We just have to recognize that she is in a place where she is happy, and one day dad, we'll be okay." Magnus let out a deep breath, his lips shaking as tears glided down over top of his lips. "You and me dad."

"Magnus..." Gerald sighed and looked back to Magnus, he had fresh slick tears in his eyes. It had been years since Magnus had seen Gerald cry. "Come here," he held his arms open, walked around the front of his desk and Magnus stepped into his waiting arms without hesitation. "I love you, Magnus. Don't forget that."

"I love you too dad. And mom loved you, and Olive loved you." Magnus cried freely into the cotton fabric of Gerald's long sleeve shirt, and to Magnus' surprise Gerald continued to hold him even closer; gripping the back of Magnus' pale grey suit. He finally had the clarification from Gerald that the reason why he lashed out at Magnus was because of how much Magnus was like his mother; of how it reminded Gerald about all that he had lost—that he could have prevented. And now Gerald knew how Magnus felt, maybe not to an extreme extent, but they could finally understand each other now.

"As did they, you son." Gerald and Magnus held each other for a substantially long time until both of their breathing had calmed down; and the tears that poured from Magnus' eyes ceased in their traitorous movement down his cheeks. With one last grip from Gerald, he pulled back from Magnus, letting their arms slip away. And for the first time in all of Magnus' life, Gerald gazed upon Magnus with pure pride—pride in his son for being so strong but yet not letting his emotions fester deep inside of himself any longer. "I have something for you,"

"What is it?" Magnus asked, and instantly didn't recognize his voice. It was raspy, as Gerald's had been when he first came into the study.

"A letter, that I found from your mother. It was in the copy of _'The Tenant of WildFell Hall'_, her favorite book," Gerald circled back around his desk and picked up the fragile book. He opened the front cover and tucked neatly inside was a small snow white envelop. "It's addressed to you." Gerald handed Magnus the envelop with unsteady fingers. Magnus registered that his father was still not okay and Magnus didn't think he would be okay for awhile either. But Olive... Oh god, Olive, she would have never wanted to see either one of them unhappy.

"Thank you," Magnus regarded the small fragile envelop with curiosity. "I—I'm going to take this up to my room. I'll talk to you later dad." Magnus bowed his head down, and attempted to give his father a small smile; but somehow he just didn't have the will power to quirk his lips up. He left the room, rather soundlessly, and made his way through the halls; the halls in which Olive would never be in anymore. She was like another mother to him, and he couldn't bare that fact that he had just lost another. No, this wasn't what life was supposed to be like and he didn't think he was ever going to shake this sense of sadness.

He passed the kitchen archway on his way back to the front foyer, and saw Sarah's plump body slumped over one of the island counter bar stools; tissues upon tissues littered the top, and soft quite sniffles fell out of her mouth. Magnus couldn't see Sarah like that, so he quickly made his way out into the foyer, up the left side of the grand staircase, and into his bedroom.

He was mad; mad that he didn't get to properly say goodbye to Olive—and at the fact that he had been out last night, getting completely wasted with the rest of his friends as he tried to expel thoughts of his mother and Alec. He could have been there, at the house. But he was at least warmed by the thought that the last time he had spoken to Olive it had been a warm conversation about how beautiful the sky had looked outside during the morning—nature was definitely one of her passions—and at least he wouldn't live with regret about his last words to her.

Magnus sat down on his high bed, resting his back against the headboard. He slowly opened the envelop taking out the letter that was addressed to him in his mothers penmanship.

_Magnus Bane,_

_ My beautiful boy; that's what you will forever more be to me. Your father is in the other room, rocking you to sleep after a nightmare, and I don't wish to disturb him during his moment of bliss to be with you. So I have decided to write you this, praying that one day—when you happen upon this letter—you will understand why loved ones do the things that they do. Everything is for you my sweet, sweet baby. Every move I take, is in mind of your future, and what happiness I know will come after much hardship I fear. Life is full of trials and tribulation baby. But I know, I just know it Magnus, that you will be just fine._

_ I wish Magnus, that I could chance upon being there to congratulate my little boy on his graduation, on his wedding day, on his life accomplishments, but I know I can't. I know I will not survive until that day. I won't survive to see many things happen in your life, but one day I hope you understand that all the things around you, that may be happening—whether terribly misfortunate or otherwise enlightening—is a plan I have for you. One that does not involve me in your life. _

_ Because you see, my beautiful boy, I am sick of the mind—I've always been—and in all truth I do not want to take away from you. I don't want you to face my demons for me, Magnus. I don't want you to go through what your father already does. I love you both so much my sweet, sweet baby._

_ I'm sorry. This isn't the way I'd imagine things being, but as I've happened upon chance of witnessing—I can not tear the fabric of time and fate. You have a plan for you Magnus, a plan that will bring you love and happiness—as long as you let it. Let it happen to you, _let love happen baby.

_By the time you read this message, I will have passed, and you will think you are lost to this world, but baby, don't give up. Just know that I will always be with you, in every step you take. Look up to the sky at night, and see how the stars shine for you. I love you, my beautiful boy; and I am fortunate enough to get this time to spend with you, up until that day. _

_Palmer Maria Riel Bane._

Magnus let the letter drop from his hands onto the bed. He didn't realize it until he raised his forearm over his eyes that he was crying again. He took a shuddering breath in and a quite sob escaped his lips. And then another, but louder this time. His chest was heaving in the most unpleasant of ways. Now he felt empty, completely empty—as if someone took a nicely propositioned knife and carved him out whole; leaving nothing behind. "I'm trying not to think about you, mom." Magnus said out loud in the bleak quietness of his room. "Can't you just let me breathe?" It was more of a plea on his part. He wished no ill thoughts in regards to his mother, but he couldn't help the desperation he felt to be free of the sadness in his life.

There was a tentative knock on Magnus door, and he lowered his arm in time to catch the gaze of James' bright silver liquid eyes. He regarded Magnus with a sort of hesitation; but it wasn't pity that laced his features, it was genuine fear—fear for Magnus and how this day affected him deeply. To Magnus' surprise James had a very small ball of sheet-paper-white fur in his left hand: cradled against his chest was a small kitten, no bigger than a shoe.

"How are you?" James asked tentatively as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I could be better," Magnus answered, as he began to wipe the hot tears from his eyes. "Picking up random strays Jem?" Magnus pointed to the small kitten that was still held within his arms.

"I found him, just sitting there on your front porch. I thought you might have liked a cat," James smiled that all to familiar smile that made Magnus feel just that much better. It was crazy that James possessed the power to take all the worries away from Magnus' world. But he was definitely grateful for it—although in any other scenario, Magnus would have never wanted anyone to see him in such a vulnerable state, he was glad that James was there. "William told me not to come over."

"Oh?" Magnus quirked his eyebrow as he held out his hands, in gesture to the kitten. James placed the small body within Magnus' out stretched hands, and Magnus could have sworn he had never felt anything so soft before—besides the pale skin right at the dip of Alec's hip bones and his thin lips. But those were things Magnus didn't want to think about.

"He said you'd want to be alone." James shrugged and sat down next to Magnus on his bed. They both began to pet the white kitten; as it purred endlessly—the subtle vibrations tingled through the tips of Magnus' fingers.

"Surprisingly, I don't want to be alone at all." Magnus whispered, as he took another shuddering breath. "Jem," Magnus started and with all of his power, he willed himself not to completely breakdown when he started to speak, "Olive passed away last night. S—she's been sick for awhile." James sharply turned his head to the side to stare into Magnus' eyes. His silver eyes were filled with shock and question, as he tried to make sense of what Magnus had just said.

"Magnus, I... I'm so sorry. _Oh god_," James threaded his left hand into his hair and instantly tears began to collect in his silver eyes. Magnus stretched back a little bit and placed the kitten behind them on the bed.

"I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just... Shit Jem, _Sage. _He probably doesn't know yet. I can't tell him... I can't do that to him." Magnus' breathing started to pick up frantically.

"I'll tell him," James wiped the tears out of his eyes with the pad of his thumb; but they were only replaced by newer, fresher ones. Olive in some way was another mom to James as well. The loss of Olive would create a definite crack between everyone that new her. "And Magnus, you aren't fine,"

"Jem—"

"And it's okay to not be fine Magnus." James interjected before Magnus could continue. "You're the strongest person I know, but you can't be strong all the time. You just can't Magnus." James said with a frown and wrapped his right arm around Magnus' shoulder. Unintentionally a scattered sob broke free from Magnus' lips, and he shivered against James.

"Jem, everything is just..." Magnus sighed, "I can't wake up in the morning without my mother on my mind. I'm haunted by her image."

"It's not something that is easy to get over. Even if it has been seven years Magnus; it is your choice if you're ready to move past things. No one else's." James stroked his hand up and down against Magnus' arm, soothingly.

"But who really profits from dying?" Magnus added in a whisper, "why did she leave me?"

"Magnus, those are questions I can't answer for you. I'm so sorry for what you are going through, but those are things you have to answer yourself." James tucked his head into the crook of Magnus' neck. His silver hair brushed over top of Magnus' collar bone—tickling him. Magnus smiled as he tried to hold off a small laugh—because at a time like this, how could he laugh? They sat like that on the edge of Magnus' bed for a little while longer, before James began to speak again.

"What are you going to name him?" James flicked his chin to the side a bit, indicating to the tiny white kitten that was now sleeping behind them on the confines of Magnus' bed. The kitten had created a sort of nest for itself, wrapped up in the canary yellow sheets and white comforter.

"Hmm, in the true spirit of Lester Bangs, _'smoke a joint or wear a Chairman Mao', _I think I'll name him Chairman... Chairman Meow." Magnus smirked to himself.

"I'll never understand why you even like Lester Bangs, that guy was insane." James shook his head and laughed to himself a bit.

"Mmm, his insanity was what made him amazing, though."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I know this was a terribly emotional chapter (well at least it was for me). At first I didn't think of Olive dying at all, but then it kind of just popped into my head, and I couldn't get it out for the life of me. I know I must seem terrible for putting all of this added weight on Magnus' shoulders, but life isn't perfect—things like this happen all the time. (I still feel extremely bad though). I had to get up and walk away from my computer a couple of times because it made me start to cry writing this.

So, also, I wanted to address some questions I got in my pm about the last chapter!  
>-Magnus and Alec didn't break up. It was just a little hiccup, and honestly if Alec had stayed longer it could have went either way—resolve the issue or break up. So... It was a good thing that he took himself out of the situation. Tomorrow is Sunday (in their world!) so who knows if they'll be together in that chapter or not?<br>-Another thing was about how Isabelle was being a *bitch. She is not used to guys treating her as if she were something to cherish, so of course she is going to react badly to Simon, because he broke all of the things she was used to. That tends to scare people, because they end up feeling so much for those people that 'break the mold'.  
>-And a message about Lemons. They are coming! Have faith in me, and once they are here, you'll probably get sick of them because i've written a lot of them already. But, in saying that, Magnus and Alec aren't at that point yet! So bare with me!<p>

(I know this authors note is so long but,) I wanted to just say that I feel as if I'm not personal enough with you guys. And I want to be! I'll start to reply to all of your reviews today :D so ask questions, say hi, drop a little suggestion or something. And I promise I'll reply!

**Review please :D?**

**Amber,**


	37. I've Got a Feeling

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY SIX **

_**I've Got a Feeling ** _

_"All these years I've been wandering around the world, Wondering how come nobody told me  
>All that I was looking for was somebody, Who looked like you.<br>I've got a feeling that keeps me on my toes  
>Oh yeah, Oh yeah.<em>_"  
><em>

* * *

><p>Alec didn't really know what he was planning to do. All he knew was that he couldn't stand being away from Magnus any longer without talking to him and or seeing him. So, with much difficulty, Alec remembered the roads and paths upon the hill tops in which Magnus had taken to get to his house, and began to walk—for he would never dare to drive—to the Bane manor. It was nearing midnight by the time he had finally made it to the black slate driveway of the Bane manor; the sky was darker than lake water at night, with gleaming stars clustered everywhere in the sky. It was a beautiful night—cool calm fresh air waved around him, rustling his hair and taming the heat of his skin. The muscles in his legs were starting to ache, due to the strenuous walk, but at this point Alec knew that whatever he endured was worth it; as long as he got to see Magnus and had the chance to talk to him about what had happened the previous night.<p>

Alec took a deep breath in as he made his way past the Weeping Angel fountain that stood tall in the middle of the large drive way, and on to the grass around the base of the dark house. He had hoped that his memory was as sharp as he deemed it to be; and likewise that his perceptions weren't off, because what he was about to do could turn out disastrous. He bent down and picked up a hand full of small stones that were littered around the base of the brooding dark manor; and with faith in his good arm, he stepped back a bit and let the stone fly through the air—softly as to not shatter anything—and instantly, after being launched, it clicked with the bedroom window on the second floor, which was his intended path.

Nothing happened for a second and he thought he might have gotten the wrong room based on his perception, so he tried again for good measure—lodging the stone through the air, waiting and listening to hear that faint click it made against the glass of the window. A small light flickered on inside of the room and a moment later Alec could see the shadow of someone walking across the floor of the bedroom, against the ceiling. He breathed a sigh of relief that he had picked the right room. He could see Magnus' silhouette through the window, although Magnus couldn't quite see Alec yet. He had something white in his right hand and with difficulty he raised his window with his free hand, letting the midnight air flow through his room.

"Alexander?" Magnus whispered, although it _was _loud enough for Alec to hear. "What... What are you—?" Magnus peered down at him in questioning. Maybe Alec should have warned Magnus he was on his way over... "Hold on one second," Magnus said before he lowered his window and left. Alec took a moment to gather his thoughts and walked over to the front of the house, taking his time on the slick black steps of the estate. He waited on the threshold for a minute or two before the ominous waxy front door was opened. Magnus stood there wearing soft purple cotton pajama bottoms that hung off of his hips in a dangerous way, and no shirt. His defined 'V' made Alec gulped loudly, and he felt a searing heat rise up to the apples of his cheeks. It took him a moment to return his gaze to Magnus' face, but eventually he had somehow torn his eyes away from, quite possibly, his favorite part of Magnus' body.

"You know, I'm not in the mood to fight at all." Magnus stated; his mouth was set in a hard line. He leaned the right side of his body against the door frame, and crossed his tanned arms over top of his lightly toned chest. "So, why are you here?" His voice was bleak, almost void of any emotion. And Alec expected that really, for the way he had treated Magnus the night previous; and at least Magnus wasn't acting callous towards Alec.

"To apologize." Alec instantly replied. He placed his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing the fine hairs mixed with a little bit of fresh sweat there, in his nervous tendency. "Look, Magnus, I was being selfish... I'm not..." Alec sighed loudly. "I'm not used to this at all,"

"Used to what, Alexander?" Magnus earnestly asked, flicking a few stray pieces of his thick black hair out of his face, by a swift tilt of his head. He sounded intrigued by Alec's statement at least; urging Alec to continue.

"To feeling this way." He simply replied. "To feeling as if I always have to be around you, or else I become completely restless. To feeling as if sometimes you are the only thing that can make me truly happy. To feeling as if... As if I'm on fire all the time from just the simple looks you give me. I—I can't describe exactly what it is, or what it means. But I just know that it is there, and I had hoped that you felt the same way—"

"I do feel the same way," Magnus cut Alec off and pushed himself off of the door frame, stepping out, slightly, onto the black steps with bare feet.

"You do?" Alec knit his eyebrows tightly on his forehead, his tone of voice was filled heavily with shock; which in turn made him feel all that more guilty about doubting how Magnus could feel about him. He knew that his face was flushed with color at the thought, but he didn't necessarily care about that at the present moment.

"Yes, you idiot." Magnus laughed and shook his head from side to side briefly. "What I said, when we were... Well, fondling," Alec gulped loudly again, "each other—that just slipped out Alexander. I don't exactly know where that came from." Magnus admitted as he sighed and dropped his arms back to his sides. He took a step closer to Alec, walking further out into the cold night to stand directly in front of Alec—regarding him with watchful yellow-green cat eyes. He hesitated slightly in raising his hand to cup Alec's jaw—but seemed to find it within himself to still do so. Magnus' hands were so cold against Alec's heated skin; he took to brushing his thumb against the bone of Alec's cheek, in a calming gesture as he gazed at Alec's lips with a sort of determination. "You _know _that you're so much more to me than just a distraction." Magnus stated in a husky whisper. "Or at least you _should _know that. And maybe, I should have told you."

Instinctively, and rather absent-minded, Alec began to lean his body closer to Magnus—wanting desperately, now, to taste the sweet spearmint that, he knew, laced Magnus' lush lips and tongue. He wanted to run the tips of his fingers down the subtle muscles of Magnus' chest and stomach; dance his fingers across the lines of his deep 'V'. Burning desire was something they would always have between them, there was no doubt about that. The need Alec had for Magnus, surpassed anything Alec had ever felt before; and quite readily it annoyed him insanely—because he was his own contradiction: he both wanted to satisfy Magnus' and his own desires, but he wasn't all too sure if his nerves would catch up with him during the act or not.

Magnus tilted his head slightly to the left, silently inviting Alec to a kiss, in which he took his opportunity rather greedily. He needed this, he thought, as his lips connected with Magnus'—softly at first, but then instantly it spiked to an alarming intensity. Alec sucked on Magnus' bottom lip delving it into his mouth, and Magnus whimpered at the pressure as he brought his arms up and around Alec's neck—pulling him closer. The small whimper Magnus made only caused Alec to want to be so much closer to him, and he wasn't going to hold back much now. He wrapped his arms around the top of Magnus' waist—just under his rib bones—and tugged Magnus to his body, so that their chests were crushed together—heaving against one another.

Magnus pulled his head back a bit, denying Alec for a brief moment of his lips. "You know, despite what I just said, I really don't mind what we were doing yesterday..." Magnus quirked his eyebrow high with a sly smirk on his face.

"Your room?" Alec asked and or suggested really, with a confident smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He took delight in the shocked expression on Magnus' face—his mouth falling open for a short second before he snapped it back in place.

"It is a bit cold out here isn't it?" Magnus smiled and gave Alec a quick peck on the lips, while he unclasped his hands from around Alec's neck. "Well, are you going to let me go or...?" Magnus glanced down at Alec's arms still wrapped tightly around his waist, and back up into Alec's eyes playfully. Alec dipped his head down a bit, and nuzzled the side of Magnus' neck—to Magnus' surprise—and placed a soft kiss onto the throbbing pulse point.

"Do I have to?" He asked in a more than husky voice. Biting his lip he returned to gazing into Magnus' eyes; instantly taking pleasure in the way Magnus was starring at his lips with a silent threat.

"If you want to make it up the stairs quieter and... Faster... Then yeah, Alexander. You're going to need to let me go." Magnus laughed and raised his left hand to the swatch of skin just above Alec's eyebrow—stroaking the pad of his thumb over top of it softly. "Come on lovely. I have something to show you." Alec reluctantly let go and Magnus turned to face the doorway; walking back into his darkened manor house.

"That makes me nervous," Alec blushed, and followed Magnus into the front foyer, closing the door slowly—as to not create so much noise. He kicked his shoes off, and placed them next to the front door. Somehow, when Alec stepped into the house, he felt a wave of melancholy and dread hit him swiftly. It was a sort of sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that all wasn't _right_ in the house. It felt like something must have been missing, but that was just Alec's assumptions getting away on him.

Magnus threw Alec a smirk over his shoulder and began to take the stairs two at a time. He moved like a cat—lithel and silent—his steps were measured and graceful. It was an eerie thought to think that Magnus could walk around so silently, as Alec found his feet to be making a much more prominent sound. Alec tended to walk without picking up the backs of his feet—finding it so much easier to just shift over top of every surface without straining his knees, and maybe that was one of the habits he had picked up from being a soccer player; a habit he wished he didn't have as they continued up the left side of the grand staircase.

Alec watched Magnus' hips all the way up; decidedly swooning over the slight dip he had in his step, making his hips sway from side to side slightly. In a matter of moments they had finally made it to Magnus' bedroom which was lowly lit by one of his bedside table lamps. Alec hadn't realized it until the moment he had walked into Magnus' bedroom; but his heart was beating a mile per minute. The thought of continuing what they had been doing in the music room yesterday quite readily freaked Alec out, but also in this case his desires won over. He trusted Magnus—trusted that whatever they did together was right for the both of them. And he hoped Magnus felt the same way.

"What's that?" Alec pointed to a small white lump on top of Magnus' canary sheets, while he closed the door to Magnus' room as silently as he could. His white comforter was thrown to the foot of the high bed, for whatever reason Alec was unaware of. Magnus walked over to his bed and gently picked up the white lump and placed it within his arms. It was a kitten from what Alec could tell as Magnus drew closer to him; a small kitten, no bigger than the size of his foot quite possibly.

"His name is Chairman Meow," Magnus smiled as he handed over the small kitten to Alec. It was purring vicariously and was softer than his mother, Maryse's, fresh sheets after she had them out, blowing in the wind, on the clothes lines all afternoon.

"Chairman Meow?" Alec questioned with a grin on his face; he couldn't break his gaze away from the kitten in his hands.

"Don't ask," Magnus laughed and then gestured for Alec to give the kitten back to him. "Jem got him for me this morning... Essentially." Alec complied in handing over the kitten, although he would have loved to pet Chairman Meow for an even longer time, and Magnus went to place Chairman onto the bright red chair he had—which was situated beside his electric blue vanity table. After that Magnus began to strip out of his pajama bottoms—scaring Alec briefly because at first he hadn't thought there wasn't anything underneath—and fortunately—or unfortunately—he _was_ wearing pale orange boxers. Magnus laid back on his bed, and placed his hands behind his head watching Alec with a look Alec could only describe as carnal lust. It was intimidating but made every nerve ending in Alec's body spark with delight.

He walked over to the edge of the bed and stared down at Magnus with hooded lake blue eyes. He stretched and pulled the back hem of his black t-shirt up his back and over his head; revealing his pale white toned torso to Magnus—watching closely as Magnus' eyes seemed to dilate to their full black state under the conditions. "On or off?" Alec gestured with his pointer finger to his jeans, that were becoming tighter and tighter under the circumstances.

"What kind of question is that?" Magnus scoffed and sat up, swinging his legs around the side of his high bed. He pulled Alec closer to him, by the backs of his thighs, so that now their knees were pressed together. He shot Alec a fox grin, and within a second popped the button open on Alec's jeans and pulled the zipper down. "If you're staying in my bed, I'm not going to have you wearing jeans, Alexander." Magnus said rather huskily and placed his lips onto the swatch of skin just underneath Alec's belly buttoned. Alec's hips jerked forward at the contact causing Magnus to laugh briefly while he trailed his lips slowly to the left side of Alec's hips—sucking strongly as he went.

Alec closed his eyes at the sensation and let out a heated groan that made Magnus start to nip at the skin just above the waist band of his blue and white checkered boxers. Alec threaded his hands into Magnus' sleek black hair, knotting his fingers into the soft spikes. "_Magnus,_" Alec moaned as Magnus trailed his tongue back and forth; dipping it once underneath the band of Alec's boxers. He gave a substantial tug on Magnus' hair, earning the reward of hearing Magnus groan. "Wait," he pushed away from Magnus momentarily and shimmied out of his pants—letting them fall to the floor. He stepped out of them and bit his bottom lip in anticipation for where this was going.

Magnus watched him the whole time with a ferocious tinge to his eyes—wherever this deemed to go was definitely going to be one hell of a passionate journey. Without a second thought Alec placed himself onto Magnus' lap, straddling his hips and all at the same time pressed their throbbing cores together. The feeling was magnificent, Alec had to admit, and shocked him that he felt so connected to Magnus in a moment, like that. Alec grinned brightly at Magnus as he wrapped his pale arms around Magnus' cold tanned neck; in return Magnus snaked his large hands around Alec's sculpted warm waist and began to scratch the skin at the small of his back. Magnus took to Alec's collar and peppered kisses along the finally arched bone.

"Why did Jem bring you Chairman Meow?" Alec asked breathlessly; the thought popped into his head quite randomly. Magnus stilled in his movements, and breathing as it was, becoming ridge beneath Alec completely. "Oh, Magnus, if this is about your mother then—"

"No, Alexander." Magnus shook his head and then placed a small kiss onto Alec's chest, just above where his heart was placed. "Olive died last night—my dad told me this morning," he explained; taking a shuddering breath in at the end. Alec felt his stomach drop at that information; although he didn't personally know Olive, he could see and almost feel how much it affected Magnus. Alec was a sensitive soul; the thought of someone dying that was so close to Magnus made Alec flinch strongly at the thought. Alec crooked his finger underneath Magnus' chin and brought his head up, meeting Magnus' gaze. His yellow-green—now almost fully black—dialated eyes were partially glazed over.

"Magnus I'm here—I'll always be here for you. I hope you know that." Alec said whole heartily. He wasn't trying to pity Magnus, but more so reassure him that Alec was someone he could go to with any of his troubles. It certainly cracked something within Alec to see Magnus distressed in any way, and he would go to hell and back to take that feeling away from Magnus. He wanted to kiss and caress all of Magnus' worries away, but he wasn't sure if now was the right moment to do so anymore...

"I do Alexander. And not to make you feel as if you are a distraction right now... But I really can't handle the image of you on top of me, in my bed, half naked." Magnus blinked up at him. "I don't want to stop what we're doing just because of... Of what happened this morning. Because Alexander, I know I'm not okay." His usually evenly toned voice broke on the last few words; and Alec felt his own emotions react immensely to that subtle break. "But I do have to continue living. That's what Olive and my... Mother, would have wanted. So please, don't stop now. Don't let me hold you back."

"Magnus..." Alec whispered, his eyebrows knit tightly together low on his forehead.

"Please Alexander, I need you." Magnus pleaded; his eyes watchful and full of emotion—emotion Alec couldn't quite decipher. He didn't give it a second thought—because who was he to deny Magnus?—and pressed his hot lips firmly to Magnus'. He wasted no time and parted Magnus' lips with his tongue, shoving it into his mouth. Magnus gasped against Alec's lips as they started to fight for dominance—heat flowing between their bare chests. Alec started to rock against Magnus' core in a soft slow pattern at first, but in an instant he picked up speed, creating feverish jerky moves against Magnus' core that sent Alec almost to the edge of a fresh pool of ecstasy.

Magnus kept telling Alec to 'slow down' while they continued to groan and moan quite loudly together. That was something they needed to work on: being quiet. Magnus grasped Alec firmly on his butt and flipped them over on the bed—Alec falling underneath Magnus' body, as he hovered over top of him. They kept kissing; stealing the breath completely out of one another's lungs; gasping at the briefest friction that their cores were making when Alec rolled up and Magnus ground down; moaning around and against each others lips and tongues. Everything was just so fast, but completely measured at the same time. They rose and fell against one another in very rhythmical waves pushing each other closer and closer to the edge.

Magnus trailed his hand down the front of Alec's torso and skillfully manoeuvred his cold hand underneath the waistband of Alec's boxers and grasped the base of his member. "_Magnus!_" Alec hoarsely shouted but was silenced seconds later by a deep longing kiss on his lips. He squirmed underneath Magnus trying to create even more friction between Magnus' hand and his shaft—he jerked his hips up in response to Magnus' ministrations. The feeling of Magnus' hand stroking up and down then up again in a hurried motion was unlike any sensation Alec had ever felt. Magnus was now shoving Alec passed the point of ecstasy, drawing out broken gasps and moans from Alec's thin lips. "_Faster_," Alec demanded as Magnus began to twist the palm of his hand over the head of Alec's member over and over again, running his thumb against the strong vein on the underside. "_Yes,_ uhh," Alec grunted, "Magnus,_ faster_," he panted around his grunts and groans of pleasure.

Alec arched his head into Magnus shoulder, raised his left hand into Magnus' hair, and bit down rather harshly on the skin along his shoulder—as he attempted to suppress his scream of ecstasy—while he tugged strongly on a few black tresses of hair. His whole body shuddered as he released all of the pent up frustration that, if he were honest, was building up within him since he had set eyes on Magnus. He felt weightless as he came down from his high—the muscles in his body went completely limp, but at the same time he felt sedated by the rush of pleasure still coursing hotly through his veins. His eyes were shut tightly together as he tried to even out his laboured breath. He felt Magnus' hand leave him and he opened his eyes to see Magnus unceremoniously wipe his palm onto his canary yellow sheets.

Alec grinned and laughed at that, meeting the melting gaze of Magnus' eyes. They glittered with fascination and excitement, mixed with a beaming amount of lust and desire. "I—I think I'll need to borrow a pair of your boxers in the morning," Alec blushed feverishly at the implication of that—his face flushing brightly with a scarlet color. Magnus laughed and ducked his head down to kiss Alec on his tomato red cheek.

"No problem, lovely." Magnus' voice seemed a bit forced and it took Alec a second to realize the reason why. He glanced down quickly to confirm his suspicions and sure enough Magnus' boxers had tented substantially. Alec deviously smirked up at Magnus, as if he had some sort of a secret that he had to keep hidden, and in a rush of movements he pulled Magnus down beside him on the bed, and sat up a bit to straddle Magnus' knees. He danced his fingers along the waistband of Magnus' boxers and delighted in the fact that it made Magnus shiver considerably. Alec leaned down to capture Magnus' earlobe between his teeth and started sucking and nibbling on the sensitive skin and in response Magnus let out a low moan.

"Your turn."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I know short chapter, I'm sorry! I've been busy this week with summer school, and I was asked to write a sort of essay on James Carstairs' and William Herondale's friendship for Cassandra C. because she's posting this huge thing for comparing the relationships in The Infernal Devices on her tumblr—so I've been busy with that! And I've been writing a lot more for 'Pillars of Sand' (which is poorly neglected by me and needs attention!) Okay now about this chapter, I'll admit it was a bit awkward writing this, but I got through it just fine (at least I think I did? You tell me!) This is obviously just the first stage of the things they will get into, a little tiny bit of smut (unless you guys think that, that wasn't a tiny amount :P). But yeah, I should have the next chapter up soon! It will take a few chapters (I don't know how many yet) until we get to the big plot of Jem's cabin! So stick along for the ride :)

Review pretty please? All of your reviews last chapter touched my heart insanely, not that I like to make people cry... But it was just so rewarding to know that I can instill that much emotion through my writing. So thank you so so much!

**Amber,**


	38. Day Tripper

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN **

_**Day Tripper ** _

_"Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out. Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out,  
><em>_now she was a day... tripper, one way ticket, yeah! It took me so,  
>long to find out, and I found out, She's a big teaser,<br>__she took me half the way there.__"_

* * *

><p><em>He could remember it so clearly: everything was dark, save for small lights—possibly the gleam of the night stars—passing over the walls and floors of the open room. His body was over heated and heavy; as if weights were being pressed down on top of every inch of his skin. It was ominously quiet, he realized as his eyes danced around the room in his elated nature. <em>

_ A dark figure came back to join him in the room, walking with a sort of dip to their hip—a very familiar dip, as it was. Magnus smiled gleefully, because this was what he had been dreaming about for such a long time, wasn't it? This is what he had hoped for, yearned for, and it was in front of him—for his taking. There was something though, at the back of his mind, whispering to him about the alternative—whispering to him the other thing he wanted. But he pushed that away._

_ They finally came back together in the middle of the room; Magnus could map out every plane to his face, as he had memorized it many times before—but he would never admit that. He raised his left hand, cupping his jaw within his hand. "Say it," he breathed out, with a delightful smile on his lush lips._

_ "Say what?" He replied in a clipped voice._

_ "What I want to hear. What you've wanted to tell me for so long." Magnus pointedly stated. Was this right? Forcing him into some form of submission? It was a couple of minutes before he answered Magnus, and as he did so Magnus' heart threatened to leap out of his chest._

_ "I love you,"_

* * *

><p>The heat of the suns light eclipsed over Magnus' eyelids. He opened them slowly as the piercing rays flooded throughout his bedroom; engulfing the space in a luminous light. Sarah was pulling his lush champagne colored drapes wider than they were left last night before Magnus was <em>supposed <em>to go to bed, but was interrupted by the image of Alec standing on his front lawn. In that moment that he had glanced down at Alec waiting at the base of his house, Magnus couldn't deny the rush of emotions he had felt. For one, he was ecstatic to be graced with the image of Alec standing there, but then he was so angry about what had transpired between them the night before at Homecoming. In one respect, he wanted to run out of the house and throw himself into Alec's waiting arms and embrace him with the most passionate kiss he could conjure up; but then in another respect he didn't want to be submissive in any way, shape, or form, especially when it came to giving into Alec after a fight.

There was a small shifting on Magnus' abdomen; a slight brushing of charcoal hair over his skin—causing him to shiver and contract the muscles in his stomach a bit harshly. He peered down, through half lidded eyes, and his gaze was met by the sleeping image of Alec. Alec felt warm against Magnus' skin—almost _too_ warm, but Magnus was not about to start complaining. Having Alec tucked against the side of his body, his legs tangled and threaded through Magnus', with his head resting against his abdomen—was beyond a heavenly sight to see. He loved waking up next to Alec; this had been the third time in which he did so and every single time, he felt his heart beat a little bit faster knowing that Alec probably liked it to. There was no doubt Magnus wanted to end up in this exact position for as long as possible, but given the circumstances revolving around their relationship, he was sure that he couldn't get everything that he wanted.

Alec's thin lips were set in a sort of pouting form and his long eyelashes were splayed out over top of his high cheekbones. His dark hair—disheveled as always—was plastered to the left side of his face from a bit of sweat. And man, were they ever sweating last night. Feeling Alec throbbing within the grasp of his hand created this whole other connection between them. Alec had willingly given his body over to Magnus—to do as he pleased—and likewise Magnus had given himself to Alec. Not fully though, however; they didn't go past fondling, rubbing, stroking, because quite readily Magnus knew that Alec wouldn't be ready for _that_ just yet. And surprisingly, Magnus didn't think he was ready for that either. In the moment that they were stroking each other, yes, Magnus could have seen them getting caught up and pushing past every last boundary between them, but it just didn't happen that night—and he was actually thankful for that. Alec deserved a relationship that wasn't rushed and Magnus was fully intended to give that to him.

This was definitely the first time he had, had full on sexual contact with another guy, but Magnus—being extremely comfortable with any sexual act really—didn't find it that harbouring to begin with. He knew that when things like actually having _sex _with Alec happened that, that would bring about many more complications, because they were both inexperienced in that field. A small part of him was nervous about it, but an even larger part of him was audaciously excited for that day to come where they could finally connect with one another in the most intimate of ways. Fully naked skin rubbing together; erotically grinding and sliding against one another's sweaty bodies; Magnus pushing Alec further and further into the bed, as they both groaned and shouted together—stealing breath whenever one could take it and the other could give. Yeah, Magnus was _definitely_ looking forward to it.

He was way in over his head. He had weaved himself so deeply within Alec's life already and in respect, Alec had, had the same effect on Magnus. That thought made Magnus freeze; he trusted Alec with so much—he couldn't even begin to explain the amount of trust he had within Alec—that he knew he needed to wiggle his way out of William's plan, and fast. He didn't know how he would accomplish that, but hopefully William had gotten over whatever past infraction he had with Alec, that he could see a way to letting go—and in turn let Magnus leave the plan behind as well. He still had a hard time fathoming what Alec could have possibly done to William to make him act in such rash ways. What was William capable of doing?

Sarah noticed that Magnus was awake and gave him a small sad smile; the pain and hurt over Olive was still fresh—as it should be—and Sarah wasn't going to ignore the deep sadness inside her that would be indescribably hard to deny. She walked over to the side of his high bed and bent down to give him a quick reassuring kiss on his forehead. Magnus raised his index finger to his lips in gesture to be quiet for Alec, who was now lightly snoring against Magnus' stomach. Sarah gazed down at his sleeping form and smiled softly to herself.

"You might want to get him up soon. Maryse'll be 'ere any second." Sarah warned and Magnus sighed. He knew it was far from possible... But had Maryse known of Magnus and Alec, they would be able to lay in this position all day—which Magnus would be perfectly content with. As it was, the thought of Maryse, let alone Gerald, finding them in this position together did not seem okay at all, in Magnus' eyes.

"I'll try to wake him up. But I make no promises," Magnus whispered as he ran his finger tips across the small of Alec's back; feeling the smooth skin coiled over hard muscles there. Sarah nodded and began to retreat towards his door, stopping for a quick second to pick up Chairman Meow. When Sarah had first seen the kitten earlier that day, after James had left, she fell in love with it instantly—much to Magnus' surprise. He was sure that she would scorn Magnus, or James, for bringing a kitten into the home without her consent. But ever since she held the kitten within her pudgy hands, she had been bent on taking care of it, going as far as to buy a bed and all the other necessities Chairman would need.

"I'm not cleaning those sheets," she cocked her eyebrow and gave Magnus a pointed look before leaving; shutting the door lightly behind her. Magnus shook his head and grinned to himself, because of her comment. The fact that Magnus' sheets were clearly marked with what they had been doing around midnight, didn't go unnoticed. His mind wasn't necessarily in the gutter _all _the time, but at the moment, with Alec's half naked body caressed against his equally naked body, he felt a desire for Alec once again blossom within the pit of his stomach.

They had little to no time to be together, if what Sarah had stated was true, but he at least wanted to get a quick kiss in before they had to get ready. It was Sunday, and although he hadn't expected Alec to show up at his house last night, he now wanted to spend all day with Alec just lazing about in bed. He had never wanted that before.

He nudged Alec's foot with his own, for starters, earning a low sigh to escape from Alec's lips. He brought his hand up to caress the top of Alec's shoulders—pressing his fingers into the tight pale skin there, soothingly. But still, Alec didn't make any heed to wake up. He once again trailed his fingers against Alec's skin, but this time he followed the path of Alec's torso and down past the waist band of his boxers. He gripped Alec lightly, running his thumb up the underside, along the strong pulsing vein—and Alec shivered violently as he began to wake up from the stimulation.

He raised his head with sleepy lake blue eyes, seeming more than disorientated at the moment; but he could have fooled anyone because a second after he had seen Magnus glancing down at him, with his hand around Alec's member, he shuffled his way up Magnus' body and attacked his lips, full on. Magnus gasped in surprise and then eased into the kiss as Alec's tongue darted across his bottom lip, asking for silent access into Magnus' mouth.

Magnus retracted his hand away from Alec's boxers and clasped both of his arms around the middle of Alec's back, pulling him up and against Magnus' body. Alec winced, for some unknown reason, but then whimpered at the contact of their cores and brought his hands up into Magnus' hair; tugging ever so softly on his strands. They laid there for what could have been hours—but really it was only a few of minutes—battling for dominance; gasping for air in short successions; and hesitantly swaying their bodies together. It was hard not to get carried away with Alec, because he felt so good against Magnus' body; in the grasp of his hands.

"Magnus Bane!" A voice hissed from his doorway. Both Magnus and Alec reluctantly stopped kissing and glanced over at Sarah who was tapping her foot rather loudly on the floor at the base of his door. "What did I tell you, boy?" Magnus cut his eyes sideways at Alec, who was blushing feverishly—his face the color of ripe tomatoes—and smiled to himself. Alec made to get up off of Magnus, but Magnus locked his arms even tighter around him, keeping him pressed to the planes of his body.

"Don't worry, we'll be ready. Just give us a couple of minutes." Magnus smirked deviously at the even brighter blush Alec acquired.

"No, you don't get a couple of minutes. Maryse is already 'ere! And your father wants you to come downstairs now,"

"My mother's here?" Alec quite nearly shouted as he wrestled himself free of Magnus' arms and bolted over to his jeans that were laying on the floor. "Why didn't you tell me she was coming over?" Alec shot Magnus a feral intimidating look. Magnus ignored this with a wave of his hand, brushing it off and turned to regard Sarah—rather than stare at his boyfriend getting dressed. He much preferred the act to be the other way around, where Alec was getting undressed.

"Tell him we'll be down soon." Magnus shrugged but then thought better of it. "Or maybe, just tell him I'll be down soon and Alexander will be a surprise."

"No! I don't want them to be wondering _why _I was up here in the first place. My mother doesn't even know I snuck out last night." Alec's voice took on a slightly whiny tone, his mouth falling into the shape of a pout. It took all of Magnus' will power not to launch himself across the bed and capture Alec's bottom lip between his teeth. Magnus stood up and walked over to his dresser and brought out a crisp light blue low v-necked shirt and waxy black conforming jeans.

"I just won't say anything to them." Sarah muttered and left the room.

"We'll just tell them you came over early this morning to uhm... Start on a Biology project?" Magnus suggested, raising his eyebrow in question.

"You know, Biology seems to be our excuse for everything. We're going to need to come up with something new, soon." Alec laughed, his hiccuping laugh, and pulled on his shirt; covering up the body that Magnus could stare at all day. Magnus did notice, however, that Alec took a shuddering gasp in when he pulled his shirt on, as if in some kind of pain... "Stop looking at me and go get dressed."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Magnus blurted out, against his own accord, completely catching Alec off guard, as to the sudden change of topic.

"Talk about..."

"What we did last night," Magnus finished Alec's sentence, or at least he was hoping that, that was what Alec was going to say. Alec bit his bottom lip and slightly blushed at that.

"Oh, well, I—I liked that. _A lot_, I mean, I—I hope that happens again?" Alec stuttered on his words in such a timorous way.

"You _'hope', _that happens again?" Magnus smirked and shrugged into his black jeans. "You don't _expect _that to happen again?" He licked his lips and did a slow once over of Alec's body, from head to toe. He watched the way Alec seemed to gnaw even harder on his bottom lip as his body shivered in response to Magnus' words. "Just you wait. When we get to Jem's cabin—"

"Uhm no." Alec cut him off sharply. "We are not doing anything when we're there Magnus. We could get caught."

"Oh come on. You're going to deprive me of your—" Alec snarled, cutting Magnus off mid-sentence. "—_Body,_ for three nights and two days? I won't let that happen." Magnus grinned widely and gestured for Alec to follow him out of his bedroom, with his arm outstretched to the side. Alec rolled his eyes, but Magnus couldn't miss the ghost of a smile he had, playing at his lips. They made there way down the steps; Alec more so in a hurry, rather than Magnus who was taking his time. Maryse and Gerald were in the steel grey kitchen, standing on opposite sides of the large island counter, in the middle of the room. Maryse had a stack of white files and brown manila tag folders in her delicate hands, while Gerald stood there with a coffee in his own. When Magnus and Alec had made there way into the kitchen, Maryse did a double take as she noticed her son.

"Alec?" Maryse asked in surprise. She placed the files and folders she had in her hands on top of the shiny surface of the counter and stepped closer to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I, uhh, came over earlier, to, uhh, work on our Biology project." He offered up as he stroked the back of his neck with his left hand.

"Unusual, I didn't hear anyone come into the house this morning..." Gerald took a long sip of his coffee and as he did so he raised his eyebrow to Magnus slowly. Magnus returned the gesture with an impassive face, praying to god that Gerald couldn't see right through him in that moment. Maryse was too busy smoothing down the front of Alec's shirt to notice the look Gerald had given Magnus.

"I thought you would've been with Jace when you woke up." Maryse said.

"Why?" Alec questioned, bringing both of his hands up to Maryse's wrists, to stop her movements.

"Because he has been freaking out all morning about something. He said he needed to talk to you, but Izzy kept telling us that you were sleeping and to not bother you." Maryse squared her expression in thought. She really was beautiful, Magnus had to note, the perfect image of Isabelle and Alec wrapped up into a pretty woman figure. She was wearing a pale peach dress that ended just below her knees, while adorning a set of pearls around her neck. "You didn't tell anyone that you were coming here,"

"Jace didn't say _why_ he was freaking out?" Alec enquired rather hesitantly, as if he were testing out different ideas in his head.

"He kept saying that something happened on Friday, the night of that dance, and that he needed to talk to _you._" Maryse put a strange amount of emphasis on the word 'you' and Magnus wished she hadn't done that because he could see now that Alec had become tense and ridged standing there in front of his mother. He looked quickly over to Magnus, and Alec's thoughts were clear as day to Magnus in that subtle glance that they shared.

"I... Magnus can you take me home?" Alec earnestly asked, letting his hands—and Maryse's—fall back to his sides. Magnus nodded and lead Alec out into the front foyer, after they had said their goodbyes. Magnus picked up his keys from a small key rack hung up just shy of the front door.

"Alexander, what do you think it is?"

"Nothing," Alec said rather dismissively. Magnus frowned in partial anger.

"Alexander tell me what you think it is. Do you think he found out about us? Do you think it's something else?" Magnus threw out the first scenario that popped into his head. He guessed that, that situation—of Jace finding out about them—would affect Alec a lot, and by the way he was acting, so reserved, Magnus couldn't help but think that, that was it.

Alec turned his head away slightly so that Magnus could only see the exact side profile of his face. There was a small amount of light escaping into the front foyer and now that Alec had his head turned to the side Magnus could make out the beginning of a blossoming bruise on the bridge of Alec's nose, which crossed over slightly to the underneath of his left eye.

"Who gave you that?" Magnus took Alec's chin in between his fingers lightly—guiding his head back to Magnus. Alec jerked his head back in... Disgust? Surprising Magnus greatly by his reaction.

"No one," Alec spat out, through his teeth.

"Alexander stop being so curt with me. Does that have something to do with Jace?" he pointed out the bruise once again. "Tell me who did this to you."

"I can't," Alec hung his head in defeat, tightly shutting his eyes. Magnus placed the palm of his hand right in the middle of Alec's ribs, meaning to bring him closer to his body in a sort of embrace—but Alec winced at the contact and sucked in a sharp breath of air. Magnus knit his eyebrows tightly together on his forehead, wondering why Alec had reacted to him in that way. He grabbed a handful of Alec's shirt in his hands, along the hem, and pulled his shirt up—much to Alec's protest—to reveal the side of his ribs.

The pale skin there was blotched with purple and yellow patches, which looked terribly tender, and Magnus couldn't believe that he didn't notice it at all when they were upstairs in his room. It looked painful for Alec to take deep breaths in, and Magnus flinched at the thought that someone would want to hurt Alec in this way. "Please," Magnus reached the tips of his fingers out tentatively to touch the bruised skin, "tell me who did this to you."

"Magnus trust me right now, okay? I can't tell you. I just can't." Alec pulled back from Magnus and let his shirt fall back down his torso. He reached out for the door handle and yanked the door open, letting fresh Autumn air into the foyer.

"Will you at least tell me _why_?" Magnus hissed; he was steadily getting more and more flustered as Alec continued to evade his questioning. When you were in a relationship with someone, weren't you supposed to trust them with anything—tell them everything? Sure, Magnus wasn't the greatest representative of that point, but he _was _slowly getting there.

"Because I—I..." Alec trailed off and ran a pale hand throughout his hair. "Baby, please don't do this. I just can't tell you _right now,_" he sighed loudly.

"Did you just call me Baby?" Magnus cocked his head back in surprise and smirked at Alec. Alec's face flushed brightly with color as he had just come to the realization that he had just called Magnus 'baby'. "I like it," Magnus stated, taking a step closer to Alec. "But don't think that just because I pointed that out, that you're off the hook for not telling me who hurt you, lovely."

"I know Magnus. And I swear to you that if I could tell you, I would. _God, _I want to tell you so badly," Alec closed his eyes. Magnus sauntered his way up to Alec within seconds and clasped his face between the palms of his hands, stroking the pads of his thumbs over the fragile skin of Alec's cheeks. He kissed Alec lightly on the lips, once, twice, and then pulled away as Alec began to deepen the kisses.

"Then tell me Alexander. Tell me."

* * *

><p><em> He felt elated when those words 'I love you' escaped his lips. And he wanted to say them back; it had been a dream for him to hear those words and be able to speak them back with such finality. Then he began to realize something that gnawed at his already disrupted senses...<em>

_ It wasn't Alec who had said those words._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Yeah, I know that the beginning and end divide is a bit confusing (?) It's supposed to be that way!—to keep you guys guessing (although I'm pretty sure you guys can figure that one out on your own—or can you?) Next chapter should be interesting, I wonder what Jace happens to be freaking out about? And who's excited for Jem's cabin chapters? Because I know that I am! I think we will have two more chapters until we get to that point, so stick along for the ride. I also wanted to make you guys a deal, since I'm overly excited about today, because guys we have a Magnus Bane! (As in the movie, in which he is being played by Godfrey Gao). So, since I'm overly excited, I'll make you the deal that if we get sixty reviews, I will update tomorrow night!

Think your up for the challenge? Review!

**Amber,**


	39. Hello, Goodbye

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT**

_**Hello, Goodbye** _

_"You say yes, I say no. You say stop and I say go go go, oh no. You say goodbye  
><em>_ and I say hello; Hello hello, I don't know why  
><em>_you say goodbye, I say hello__"_

* * *

><p><em>"Then tell me Alexander. Tell me." <em>

Magnus almost pleaded—or at least that was what Alec could deduct from his tone of voice. He yearned so badly to tell Magnus that it had been William who did this to him; left his mark on Alec's body. But he couldn't bring himself to do so—not because of the fact that William had essentially threatened him, but because he just couldn't do that to Magnus. If he had out right told Magnus that William had hit him, he would be setting Magnus up for a hard decision as to who he should side with in a fight that shouldn't have occurred.

His best friend or his boyfriend, that was who he would have to choose between and Alec was not willing enough to force Magnus into that inevitable position. Alec bit his lip and then shook his head, silently telling Magnus that now was not the right time. He needed to get home to his brother, because the fact that Maryse had told him that Jace said he only needed and wanted to talk to Alec, set his heart into a quick tantrum. For Jace had never _needed_ Alec for anything before.

He conjured up a bunch of different scenarios in his mind as to what Jace was freaking out over. Could it be that he had somehow found out about Magnus and Alec being together, and now wanted to talk to Alec first hand about it? Alec doubted that option, or at least he wished greatly that, that wasn't the right option. It could be that Jace had found out that _William _had been the one to leave him bleeding and aching in the middle of an abandoned hallway of the Academy, after he had found Alec hunched over on the floor dry heaving due to the strong ache in his side.

Or it could be something completely left field that Alec couldn't even create in his mind. All he knew was that his brother needed him, and he would always be there for his younger siblings—to the best of his ability. Magnus and Alec hadn't said much to each other on the ride over to Alec's estate, seemingly they had other things on their minds and different pressing issues. Magnus wanted to know what had happened to Alec, and obviously who had caused the dark bruise along his ribs and the blossoming one on the bridge of his nose. But at the same time, Alec's mind was strongly concentrated on Jace.

Magnus drummed his long tan fingers on the top of his steering wheel, again in a wonderful rhythm that only a musician could come up with. He was more than pensive, in Alec's opinion, about this whole issue; and again Alec wished terribly that he could tell Magnus the truth. "So," Magnus cut through the silence that had engulfed them for a few minutes. "You're driving up with Jem and Tessa to the cabin right?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I haven't talked to them in awhile though," Alec replied glancing out of the car window at the passing evergreen and pine trees, which littered the side of the roadway.

"You'll have fun driving with those two. Their quite possibly the cutest couple I know, and more so, they're best friends." Magnus smiled to himself as he came to a halt at a four way stop. "You know, Will used to be in love with Tessa,"

"Really?" Alec asked, shock and surprise lacing his tone of voice.

"Yeah, but that was years ago. He never hated Jem for it though. He was obviously heart broken by the whole ordeal, but Will moves on from things fast." Magnus pushed forward on the pedal a little bit harder, thumping on the accelerator. "Or at least he used to," Magnus muttered lowly, but not low enough that Alec couldn't catch it.

"You're going up with him right?" Magnus nodded. "Why don't I go with you and Will can go with Jem?" Alec suggested. Magnus didn't answer him back immediately and this made Alec's hands sweat slightly. It should be an easy answer right?

"You know what, that's a great idea. We'll talk to them about it, because I much rather get stuck on the side of the highway with you at night than William," Magnus joked, grinning brightly. That comment though made Alec feel a bit uneasy, in regards to the fact that he basically implied that _if _he _was _trapped with William on the side of a highway, something would happen. Wasn't that what he had essentially or more so indirectly suggested? Magnus didn't notice Alec's unrest in the matter and continued to press on. "But William and I have a few things to... Take care of. So we'll see how it goes when the time comes."

Yeah, definitely Alec felt more than disgruntled by now. He gulped harshly as he felt the unrest in his stomach bubble up to his throat; threatening to burst through his clenched jaw—he shoved his discomfort in the matter down though, because he didn't want to settle even more stress onto Magnus' shoulders. Alec still couldn't expel from his mind the fact that Magnus seemed, at least, partially fine after what had happened to Olive. The sadness was there, in his forest green cat eyes that were flecked with, a now dimmed, gold. But otherwise he acted calm and cheerful at the same time, which Alec _was _glad for; but in retrospect it only indicated to Alec that Magnus was harbouring much deeper feelings about the situation, which were screaming to be let out.

"It's fine, I can go with Jem and Tessa. I don't want to impede on your time with Will," Alec said a bit venomously—he couldn't help it. William was a threat to him, he had made that perfectly clear the night of Homecoming, and William didn't like Alec and Magnus' 'friendship'. What was he capable of doing?

Magnus gave Alec a long side-long glance, measuring him up in some respect. He didn't say anything, however, to Alec and continued on towards Alec's manor house, taking the black tar roads in a hurried manner; whether that was because he wanted to get Alec home because of Jace or for some other reason, Alec didn't know; he didn't want to press the issue at all either. Magnus probably had other places to be, other people to see, and other plans to make. He knew what this was—what was happening to him. He was hastily falling into the stage in a relationship were you took anything and everything as a threat; and he definitely had William to blame for basically shoving him head-on into that stage.

Magnus had finally made it to Alec's house, parking just shy of the trees, there, that kept them rather hidden from the actual view of his family inside the house. He let the car idle as he unbuckled his seat belt and then in measured movements swung his leg around Alec's lap so that he was straddling him. Alec breathed in that which was Magnus: spearmint and some fruity body wash mixed with a bit of sweat and the slightly musky smell of what they had been doing the night before. It was sexy, nonetheless, and Alec could feel himself quickly become aroused underneath Magnus.

He clasped his cold hands around Alec's neck and brushed the tips of his fingers against the pieces of hair at the nape. "Call me later today?" Magnus said, more so in a questioning form rather than a demand. Alec bit his bottom lip momentarily and gave him a small ginger smile; the action catapulted Magnus to lean into Alec's body—in all the right ways—and clashed their lips together. Within seconds Magnus' tongue had deftly snaked its way into Alec's mouth; running across the roof of his mouth, causing him to shiver. Alec didn't catch on quickly at first—because of the substantial amount of distraction that Magnus created while straddling his lap—but somehow Magnus worked his hand between them and cupped Alec through his pants.

It was a sort of whimper-gasp that Alec let out against Magnus' lips. The feeling was sensational and sensitive; he rested his head against the crook of Magnus' neck as his fingers started to work Alec over. Alec began to nip the skin at the side of Magnus' neck, trailing his tongue in slow uneven lazy patterns against the smooth tawny skin. Strong tremors coursed through his body, jerking him forward in his seat; he bit Magnus, rather harshly, without even realizing what he had done. Magnus pulled back to look at Alec, his hand instantly leaving Alec's arousal, with a devious smirk on his face.

"Did you just bite me?" Magnus enquired with a partial raise of his eyebrow.

"Uhh, yes..." Alec blushed, while Magnus raised his hand to the side of his own neck—dancing his finger tips over the skin that Alec had just bit.

"That might leave a pretty nasty mark," Magnus laughed.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you left a bunch of marks all over my back last night," Alec quipped. It was glorious feeling Magnus' fingers sink into the fragile skin of his back as he brought Magnus to the edge. More than likely, Alec probably had a series of half crescent moon shapes on his back. "I should get in there. I don't want Jace to wait that long," Alec regretted saying that he had to leave Magnus, because in all reality he was planning on spending the day with him; but he knew that Jace needed him right now, for whatever reason, Alec was unsure of.

Magnus looked a bit sullen, as if someone had denied him of something he had begged for; but he accepted Alec's notion and moved from straddling his lap, to sit in his own seat once again. "Remember: call me." Magnus reminded him as he belted himself up again. Alec nodded his head in compliance, leaned over the middle console to give Magnus a chaste kiss, and then bounded his way out of the car and across his front lawn.

He opened the front door in a rush and was surprised to see Isabelle standing right in front of him. "So you _were _at Magnus' house last night." She wiggled her perfectly arched eyebrows suggestively. Like always, Isabelle was acting rather lively, but there was also something off about her; maybe it was the fact that her gestures and emotions at the moment didn't seem to meet her dark eyes.

"Yes Iz," Alec rolled his eyes, but then thought better of it. "Thanks for, uhh, covering for me while it lasted."

"Yeah no problem. I expect you to do the same for me now, at least," Isabelle shrugged her shoulders, letting a few strands of ink black hair fall forward. She was dressed in a simple deep red plaid cotton button-up and white sleep bottoms, indicating that she had no qualms to get out of the house at all; because usually, by now, she would be dressed and ready to go.

"Jace," Alec said blankly, pointing towards the archway that lead to the bedroom portion of the house, "he's in his room?"

"Yeah, and won't come out of it. I don't know why, but he only wants to talk to you," she snaked her arms across her chest.

"Thanks. Mom already told me," he started to walk towards the archway, and down the hallway to Jace's bedroom. The door was left slightly ajar, with a bit of light peaking out between the cracks. Alec knocked lightly to signify his presence and then made his way into the room. Jace was sitting at the edge of his bed with his elbows resting on top of his knees and his head in his hands. The way his shoulders dipped downwards told Alec that Jace was far worse than Alec could have imagined. His hands seemed as if they were in a vice grip through his golden hair; while his left foot was tapping nervously on the hardwood flooring of his bedroom. It was a sort of timorous habit for Jace—to shake essentially—while Alec was subjected to blushing, biting his lip, and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Jace what's going on?" Alec wanted to break the tension that flooded the room, ever since he walked in. Jace didn't look up at Alec, presumably ignoring him, and continued to tap his foot insistently. "Jace, come on. Didn't you want to talk to _me_? Because that's what—"

"Clary might be pregnant." Jace blurted out; trailing his hands down from his hair so he could cover his face. Alec's eyes widened on their own accord and his lips fell slack open. He felt everything within him cease up in that moment—he wasn't all too sure if what he heard, had been correct.

"What?" Alec nearly screeched—although he didn't mean to—and reached behind him to shut Jace's bedroom door firmly. Jace shook his head briefly and then looked up at Alec. His golden yellow eyes were dimmed substantially—like Magnus' had been—and it was apparent to Alec that he was in a state of distress. They held one another's gaze for an insurmountable amount of time; just starring at one another, not exactly conveying any kind of message, because really Alec didn't know what to say.

"At Homecoming, we... Well, we had unprotected sex." Jace sighed loudly, letting out a deep gust of air. This was actually happening and again, Alec didn't know what to say; how to react; what to do. He wished terribly in that moment that he could be the big brother he deemed to be; the one who was capable of telling his brother that everything was going to be fine—and meaning it. Quite readily, Alec _didn't _know if everything was going to be okay, but he hoped that it would.

"You didn't think about using a condom...?" Alec asked, more so because he had nothing better to ask and or say. He scoffed under his breath to himself, Jace needed Alec—that was extremely evident—and yet Alec didn't think he was the right person to go to in this situation.

"No! I don't know why. I was just so... Caught up in being with her, that I didn't think." Jace ran his fingers through his golden locks once again, upsetting the pattern of curls on top of his head. "And now she won't see me. She won't even _talk _to me. I've tried calling so many times, Alec. I even resorted to calling John and he told me that Clary didn't want to talk to me for awhile." His teeth began to clatter together, as if he were on the verge of breaking down. But Alec knew that he wasn't someone to let weakness overcome him.

"Jace you do understand that it's only been two days? You guys don't know if she _is_ pregnant or not—" Alec was attempting to instill a bit of hope within Jace, before Jace cut him off abruptly.

"Yeah, well what are the chances that she _isn't_ pregnant? Almost slim to none!" Jace shouted and Alec placed his index finger against his lips to warn him that the others—besides Maryse—were in the house.

"I—I'm sorry that this is happening Jace. I wish I could do something—"

"Just please be there for me." Jace cut in once again, his eyes glazing over slightly. It was quite possibly the first time Alec had seen Jace breakdown after the accident... "Honestly, I won't be able to do this alone." His voice wavered as he took in a strangled breath.

"Jace," Alec went to sit down beside him on his bed and placed his hand on Jace's shoulder lightly. "Of course I'll be there for you. With whatever you need. You're my little brother and I... I won't fail you. I—I can't fail another brother." Jace tilted his head to the side to regard Alec, and the way their eyes connected spoke words to both Jace and Alec, as they both remembered the same event that took place all those years ago. "But, you'll have Clary too. She comes first."

"I know that Alec," Jace snarled. Alec decided to take his hand away from Jace's shoulder at that moment, but Jace made to stop him, by placing his hand over top of Alec's. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so abrasive. Clary isn't speaking to me right now, so how could I possibly put her first? I want to, but she isn't letting me."

"By giving her the space she wants right now, you're being there for her—respecting what she wants." Alec suggested in a low tone.

"But this isn't a one-sided situation. This is as much her situation to deal with as it is mine." Jace let his hand drop away from Alec's and stood up abruptly. He paced the space right in front of his bed with his hands clenched tightly at his sides. Every cord of muscle in his arms was tightened beyond belief; he was so tense again, that Alec didn't realize they had taken such a turn for the worst. "There's more I have to tell you."

"What more could you say? Are you going to tell Izzy, mom and dad about this? Does Clary's family know?" Jace shook his head quickly.

"No, when I called John he didn't give any indication to me if he knew or not. I'm not going to tell mom or Izzy for as long as I can hold out," Alec was about to object to that, but Jace continued on with an even voice. "And I'm definitely _not _talking to dad." The way he said the last sentence so venomously, piked Alec's interest substantially. Something was off... Something was terribly wrong.

"What... What did he do?" He questioned, fearing the worst, hoping for the best, anticipating a mix of emotions.

"This morning I... I went out to grab the mail because dad asked me to. I was just looking through a bit of it and then... I found a letter from an abortion clinic. I started flipping out because I was thinking _'Why would Clary do this without asking me?'_"

"Jace, again, it has only been _two days._" Alec interjected.

"Yeah I know! But I haven't been able to think straight for the past couple of days okay? So I was being irrational and tore through the letter without thinking, but Alec, it was addressed to dad." Alec felt that sinking feeling within himself again, as if someone was sucking the air completely out of his lungs while filling him up with a bunch of weights that brought him down.

"What do you mean it was addressed to dad?" It didn't feel as if it was his voice escaping from his lips. He couldn't comprehend properly what Jace was insinuating to him—he didn't _want _to comprehend it properly.

"He... I think I know, now, where he's been for the past year." Jace dropped his voice to a dull whisper, gazing deeply into Alec's eyes, for he knew how much this would affect both of them. "Annamarie Highsmith, that's her name. She... She got an abortion and the consent papers were signed by dad as the biological father of the baby." Alec's hands began to shake on their own accord. He let out a strangled gasp through his—apperantly—clenched teeth.

"He was with some other woman this whole time? For a year, he left us for another woman?" Alec questioned with an intense amount of opium lacing his voice. How could his father, Robert, do this to them? Without any indication as to where he really was? For a year, Alec had waited, as well as everyone else, wondering where their father had escaped to. And in that time they had only been graced with scarce phone calls. He felt his heart twist in response to all of this; he wasn't expecting any of this to be sprung on him. But he had to be strong, for his family, even if it was broken.

"It really puts things into perspective now, doesn't it?" Jace snapped sarcastically.

"Do you think mom knows?" Alec asked so quietly, that he wasn't sure, at first, if Jace had heard him or not. An abundance of thoughts were flowing feverishly throughout his mind, and he couldn't get a proper grip of his emotions. The number one thing in his mind was the fact that Alec was exactly like his father in almost everything they did, and that scared him.

"Of course she knows. She has to. Maryse knows everything." Jace rolled his eyes slightly, possibly attempting to lighten the tension inside of the room.

"Then why," Alec stood up slowly his voice growing in intensity, "would she let him back into our house? He got another woman pregnant! How could he do that to us? To mom?" He sputtered out some of the thoughts within his mind, while simultaneously raising his voice to a shout.

"I don't know. I haven't told dad about the mail that was for him yet—"

"Are you going to?"

"To be honest, Alec, I'm not sure I will be able to stand the sight of him without wanting to punch him in the face right now. I... I have Clary to deal with and it is more than I can handle at the moment." The imminent distress returned to Jace's eyes. He looked like a small frightened boy who was locked in a dark room, helplessly calling out for someone to come get him, and receiving no response. Alec wanted to reach out for Jace and tell him that he was there, that he was going to rescue him—help him—at least.

"I'll talk to him." Alec suggested with such finality to his voice. He crossed the space between Jace's bed and the door, diverting Jace's body completely.

"Alec are you sure...?" Jace questioned just as Alec clasped the door knob between his tense, slightly shaking, hand. "You aren't necessarily the most cut throat person I know, who will get down to the matter at hand."

"I just... I have to talk to him about this. I—I have to." He shrugged and looked down at his hand, which was paler than the rest of his body as his grip around the door knob became increasingly strong. He wasn't going to let something like this muddle over in his mind for days; he wasn't going to let his father go on acting like absolutely nothing was wrong, when Alec was screaming bloody mercy on the inside. He wouldn't do that to himself and likewise he wouldn't do that to Robert. Because he couldn't let Robert think that everything was okay—that wasn't fair. But did Robert really deserve anything even close to _fair _at the moment?

"Okay, well you might as well take this with you," Jace reached over to his bed side table and pulled out a cream colored letter. He placed it into Alec's waiting hands, "he won't be able to talk around this at all." Alec nodded and with that he opened the door, went out into the hallway, and began to search for Robert.

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><p><strong>AN: **Don't be mad at me! I was meaning to update on Monday, but then fanfiction wouldn't let me upload anything. Then I was going to update yesterday, but I was out of the house all day and didn't have any time at all to do so. And then this morning I went to adopt a cat named Skeeter! So, sorry you guys! You'll be happy to know that the next chapter is almost done, so that means a speedy update after I update 'Pillars of Sand' sometime this week. I hope you liked this chapter! Jace to me has always been someone who makes rash decisions and assumptions on just about everything, and obviously you can tell that he is freaking out over something that isn't so concrete yet. Oh! And a bit of Magnus and Alec at the beginning; you have to admit that there are those points in a relationship where you _do _become jealous. It happens to everyone, and definitely Alec was forced into that position by Will. I also wanted to thank you guys for all of the lovely reviews last chapter, it really made me so happy, you have no idea!

So drop a hello and tell me what you thought about this chapter :) Review please?

**Amber,**


	40. Across the Universe

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER THIRTY NINE **

_**Across the Universe** _

_"Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes, They call me on and on across the universe,  
>Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box, They tumble blindly<br>as they make their way across the universe__.__"_

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><p>He hadn't consciously decided on his next destination; mainly he just let the insistent purr of his car and the steady drive guide him. His mind was way more disconnected from everything it seemed, because of the previous day; he just wasn't all there and he desperately wanted to obtain the feeling of being whole again soon.<p>

Somehow Magnus had found himself parked against the worn down grey slated curb, just outside of Sage's bar. He let his car idle for a few minutes outside while he sat there, and contemplated in his head if he felt... _Strong _enough to face Sage. Sage, who was one of the biggest connections to his mother and her early life; Sage who probably use to be madly in love with Olive; Sage, who cared for Magnus as a best friend—a brother—a son.

He didn't know how long he sat in his car, but at some point he decided to face the inevitable. Shutting his car off, locking it, he finally made his way towards the Cherry colored mahogany door of Sage's bar. He opened it with ease and was instantly hit with some of his favorite smells: weathered, run down wood and hard liquor, a mixture of scent that only Sage's bar could obtain. Sage was behind the bar at the back of the room—as Magnus would have suspected—seemingly running a red and white checkered wash cloth over the same spot on the top of the bar twice.

His structural chin and jaw was filled with greying brown scruff that was left uncut for a couple of days. His dark blue plaid shirt was wrinkled beyond belief and the way his shoulders were dipped down—curving his usually straight firm back—signified to Magnus that he was more than depressed about the whole situation with Olive, if not as well, his mother Palmer.

For a second Magnus regretted coming into the bar in fear that this could only bring him even more sadness, but then Sage looked up—as if sensing Magnus' prescene—and gave him a weak smile that was nevertheless inviting at the same time. The whole room wasn't exactly full, but it was full enough that Magnus wasn't able to make out any of the conversations he passed—not that he wanted to—because it was drowned out by the abundance of voices all speaking at once. In no time at all, Magnus found himself perched in front of the bar opening right at the side. Sage slung his wash cloth over his left shoulder and took a few hesitant steps forward.

He pushed the little half door to the bar open and enveloped Magnus in a tight embrace. They both placed a hand on one another's backs and slapped the spot just between their shoulder blades—then squeezed tightly. It felt as if they were both attempting to grasp onto each other for dear life; fearing that they would somehow drown if the other let go. "How are you holding up, boy?" Sage said roughly in his ear, easing back out of Magnus' hold.

"I'll get there." Magnus assured remorsefully. There was no point in lying and or evading Sage, who could see right through him, on occasion. "How are _you_ though?"

"I knew about Olive too, so I had a bit of time to think things over. And I'm sorry that no one found it fit to tell you about her sickness. We didn't want to worry you—" Magnus held his left palm up, stopping Sage's speech.

"Dad already told me the same thing. I'm mad as hell, I can tell you that. But I will move on from this. It hurts to know I've lost another—mother, but they would have wanted me to continue with my life..." Magnus trailed off and looked down onto the chipped bar top. His words didn't exactly register with his soul completely. "... Right?" Sage gave Magnus a long hard look, his eyes seemingly contemplative.

"Your mother would be so proud of you. So proud." He raised his hand, briefly, to the stubble on his chin and scratched it lightly, closing his eyes, before he returned to standing back behind the bar. Magnus moved to take a seat right in front of Sage, as he began to prepare a drink. He placed it in front of Magnus as soon as he was done. "Scotch on the rocks."

"Thank you," Magnus took the drink gleefully out of temptation and downed it within a couple of gulps.

"You know Magnus, I _can _tell that you still torture yourself over your mothers death. It's there in those eyes of yours." Sage stated, to Magnus' surprise. He tilted his head to the side, regarding Sage as if he were some type of foreign alien object.

"What would give you that idea in the first place, Sagimir?" Magnus rose his tone slightly. Something about what Sage had said set off a form of fiery anger within him. It started in the pit of his stomach, festering, churning, until it turned into a white hot rage that flooded his veins. He wasn't all too sure if he could keep his emotions cooled down or not.

"Don't you raise your voice at me now. I know you, and even if you don't want to admit it, you blame yourself." He set out another drink in front of him and Magnus growled at his implication before taking the alcohol within his hand—the chilled cut glass, biting his fingertips—and downing it faster than he had the first time.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Magnus scoffed as he clenched his fist around the glass he held in his hand. Someone, a little ways down at the bar, gestured over to Sage, tapping on his glass steadily, but Sage paid him no heed at all.

"I don't? I don't know how it feels to know that, that beautiful woman is gone from this world and I could have had a chance to stop it from happening? We all think about the possibilities Magnus, you're just the one who continues to bottle it up inside of yourself as if those thoughts aren't there." Sage said in a tormented voice. Magnus knew that this was both sadness and anger talking; but Sage didn't need to say those things to Magnus at the moment, at all. Or at least, Magnus didn't want to _hear _those things being said to him. It broke something within him, a piece to the puzzle that was Magnus—being slowly chipped away.

"Stop it." He said lowly—menacingly—and Sage took this as a clue to back off just a bit with the anger and desperation in his words. Magnus sat there staring into Sage's eyes which were clouded over with red. It took a few drawn out moments for Sage to speak again, given the fact Magnus made no move to do so ither. "I kept asking your mother _'is this was enough'_," Sage dropped his voice and looked down, watching the sheens of waxy light on top of the weathered bar top. "If she was finally able to say that she had found what she had always been looking for. She would say _'yes'_ every time, but that animated tinge to her voice would never meet those eyes."

Sage took a deep breath in and then let a long gust of air out through quivering lips. He wasn't the strongest of people, that Magnus knew, he could become emotional fast. "Those eyes told us all that she just wasn't satisfied yet, she couldn't be." He began to play with the rim of a shot glass he had sitting on the bar top in front of Magnus. Magnus watched his fingers with ease, absorbing everything and taking it in like a sharp stab wound to his mangled heart. "Your father tried. He gave her the world, Magnus; marriage, a house, a stable life. He gave her you. But Palmer was always searching for that next step, and at some point she had finally decided that she just wasn't meant for this world, Magnus."

Magnus felt like screaming out all of the frustration he had packed within his mind for seven years, but crying out for his mother just wasn't an option anymore—in which he wished it could be. "She was meant for the heavens," Sage went on. "Where she could finally obtain everything she had ever wished for: More." Magnus continued to look down, not wanting to meet the steely gaze, he was sure, Sage was giving him now. Somehow he found himself slightly nodding his head in compliance and he quickly shut his eyes as he felt hot tears sting the backs of his eyes. He hated crying so much, it made him feel weaker than he already was.

He had cried while holding Alec, as he slept, in the early morning hours and had thought that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to reign in his emotions for the day. He could feel his hands starting to involuntarily shake, and instantly he pulled them back from the bar top so he could hide them in his lap. He remembered how he used to shake at night for the first couple of years after his mothers death; always wanting to break out of his spells, but never being able to.

A few deep calming intakes of breath was all it took to keep Magnus' emotions at bay. "How about we talk about something else Sage?" He almost pleaded; his voice breaking on Sage's name.

"Are you going to tell me more about that new girl you have? Do I still need to bust out a Sex on the beach or did something happen between you two?" Magnus could tell that Sage wanted to continue on with what he had been previously discussing; but he respected Magnus' wishes and changed onto the topic of his relationship. He didn't want to upset Magnus anymore than he already seemed to have done. Magnus shook his head and laughed, for he knew exactly what he was about to say but couldn't quite imagine Sage's reaction. Shock? Disgust? Happiness?

"First of all, I'm gay. Or at least bisexual." He looked up at Sage with a smile on his face. Sage looked like a deer caught in headlights for a moment as he took in Magnus' revelation. "His name's Alexander Lightwood—"

"Robert's boy?" Sage's ears perked up instantly at the mention of 'Lightwood'.

"How do you know him?" Magnus could guess the most obvious answer, be he wanted Sage to clarify.

"I used to hang around them when Gerald first met Palmer in eleventh grade." Sage shrugged. It was fascinating to Magnus, to think that somehow most of their parents and adult friends were connected in some way or another.

There was now a couple of angry customers just a ways down from Magnus gesturing and yelling at Sage for service. "Hey! Can't you see I'm talking here? Wait a moment." Sage barked back at them, waving his hands in big wide gestures. "Now go on," he leaned down on his elbows in front of Magnus.

"You don't mind me being gay? You don't mind me having a boyfriend?" He quirked his eyebrow high on his forehead while pursing his lush lips together. Sage gave him and incredulous look, then scoffed under his breath.

"No. Why would I? If you like the kid enough to call him your boyfriend, then who am I to judge? As long as you're happy—that's all that matters. Plus, I kind of had an inkling that you were anyways, what with all the glitter..." Sage smiled a beaming smile. It was characteristic to him, and Magnus was glad to see that, that hadn't gone away. "Tell me some details."

"He's beautiful," Magnus said matter—of—factly, sighing faintly as he did so. Livid lake blue eyes scuttled across his vision, and pale defined hip bones.

"I can imagine. Maryse was always a beauty." He reminisced. "How's the sex life?" He asked rather bluntly, causing Magnus to choke on, air, basically.

"I think you need to get over there and serve your other customers," Magnus laughed hoarsely as he started to get up out of his seat; slowly backing away from Sage.

"That good huh?" Sage wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Magnus internally cringed. He regretted telling Sage anything at all. He should have just kept his mouth shut for a little while longer.

"I'm never coming here again." Magnus laughed even louder than before and started to make his way towards the Cherry colored mahogany entrance. He would have loved to stay longer but at the prospect of revealing more than was necessary about Alec's and his relationship, he wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

"Oh, you'll be back, Bane." Sage called over to him as he pushed the door open and was led out into the fresh morning air. The air was the perfect combination crisp wind and hot humidity, for the morning time.

"We meet again," drawled a low sultry voice. Magnus cringed, the fine hairs on his arms standing to attention almost instantly. That voice did a number on his nerves, but definitely not in a pleasurable or good way. He turned to his right, regarding the voice that had addressed him. Willow stood there, against one of the old dark green light posts along the curb of the sidewalk—leaning with her hip jutted out to one side. She was in a tight black, shimmering, thin strapped, romper that licked the tops of her olive thighs, with nude waxy pumps to top off her look. Her curly brown hair was pulled to one side, held by a silver and gold brooch which was designed to resemble a sun and its rays. Those yellow-hazel eyes of hers were dancing with delight—she never was one to move on from things—at the prospect of catching Magnus again.

Looking at her now, made Magnus want to somehow go into the past so he could change the wave of thoughts he had back then that led him to dating her. However spiteful that may of sounded, he didn't necessarily care because it was, well, Willow.

"How come we keep bumping into each other at the bar?" She smiled while biting her bottom lip. That did nothing for him; not like the image of Alec biting his bottom lip did, which was absolutely sexy.

"You know I come here quite a bit, I wouldn't put it past myself to believe you just wait around to spring on me." Magnus smirked maliciously. There was always something about her that fired up his temper in substantially large amounts. Possibly it was the fact that she was so sure of herself in everything she said and did, rivaling Magnus' sureness of himself, to new levels. Or maybe it was the fact that she couldn't take no for an answer half the time and didn't know when to quit. But maybe, in the farthest remote parts of Magnus' mind, it was because she had the same eyes as his mother.

"That's cute that you think I still want you." Willow tilted her chin up a bit and laughed. The white glitter on the inside of her eyes sparkled in the morning light overhead. It was now fastly approaching October, which meant the morning sun came fast, lasted to just before evening and began to dip down on the horizon before supper. She stepped closer to him, and he didn't have it in himself to move away from her. Oh, how easy it would be just to make his way over to his car and leave her standing on the curb by herself.

"I don't _think _you still want me. I know you do." He tilted his head to the side defiantly, letting a few black strands of his hair fall into his eyes. He watched, with great fascination, Willow's finger tips twitch for a second, as if she were about to reach out and sweep the hairs back.

"Can we be normal to one another? I know what happened between us wasn't ideal..." Willow _tried_ to appear sincere, in Magnus' opinion, but he wasn't having it. He snorted at her words and crossed his arms over his chest; arching his back slightly to stand taller.

"Wasn't ideal? You cheated on me."

"Not that you care," Willow practically snarled and then took a moment to regain her composure. He could see that he was chipping away her outer exterior slowly and he loved it.

"You're right. I don't care." Magnus agreed with an impish grin, his voice stoic and sound. "Is there a reason that you stopped to talk to me?"

"I just wanted to know where we stood? Seeing as we _will_ be spending this whole weekend together..." Willow slithered up closer to him. Her body was now flush against his and he had to keep from choking on the amount of perfume she was wearing. It flooded his senses in the worst possible way, making him light headed. He attempted to push her away from him, by placing his hands on her slightly curvy hips. But instead he got the opposite reaction when she took his gesture as a proposition and placed her hands on his shoulders—gripping tightly.

"What do you mean?" Magnus had a sinking feeling in his gut and he hoped she wasn't saying what he thought she was...

"Sebastian invited me to Jem's cabin!" She squealed, making the sinking feeling in Magnus' stomach solidify.

"Most likely, only, because you're such a good lay." He scoffed and rolled his eyes. He felt like beating some sense into Sebastian at the moment, but knew better than to do so. When they got to Jem's cabin, Friday, after school he would make sure to at least do something to express his feelings about this to Sebastian.

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not." She licked her glossy lips, staring at his lips intently. He pushed even harder on her hips, hating the feeling of her body so close to his. He much rather the feeling of Alec's tall muscled body against his, preferably with the minimalist amount of clothing on... In his bed... Under the sheets... He had to stop his thoughts there, in fear that the pleasure that was pulsing through his body at those thoughts would become misinterpreted by Willow.

"It wasn't supposed to be a compliment." He finally pushed her away from his body, feeling a release of tension in his muscles as he did so.

"Whatever. Hey, if you're not doing anything today we should—"

"Hey Magnus!" _Oh thank the heavenly lords, _Magnus thought as he heard the voice of an angel. Tessa and James were coming around the corner of a small book store, hand in hand. Her voice flooded around them as they came closer, halting whatever Willow was about to suggest to Magnus. He walked over to them and wrapped his arm around James' shoulder, using his other to point towards the pair.

"Sorry, I've got plans with them already. We're uhm..." Magnus grappled for an excuse that would lead to an impossible way for her to follow them.

"—Going to Idris for the afternoon." Tessa supplied; always the quickest thinker of the lot of them.

"Oh well, okay. I guess I'll see you all this weekend." Willow beamed and went over to hug Tessa swiftly. Magnus almost choked on a laugh that bubbled in his throat when he saw the scowl on Tessa's face as Willow hugged her. James glanced to Magnus momentarily, his liquid silver eyes in questioning.

"Huh?" James said out loud, not entirely catching on to the fact as to why she might be spending time with them on the weekend. Willow straightened herself and fixed the short hem of her romper, flicking strands of curls over her shoulder.

"Didn't Sebastian tell you that he invited me as his date to your cabin?" She asked, widening her yellow-hazel eyes to appear as an innocent part to the ordeal.

"Uh... No he didn't mention anything." Magnus could tell that James was fighting off a pout, as he pursed his lips tightly together. But he knew that James, being nothing but goodness, wasn't going to deny even Willow of anything. "I guess, we will... See you there then." He shrugged and Magnus sighed. For once, he didn't want James to be so nice, but he knew that he would be asking for a lot.

"Okay! So right after school?" Willow started to walk away, swaying her hips in that all too familiar way. Magnus was sure she was doing that to get his attention—to somehow rouse his memories. In which it did; he could clearly see her walking across his bedroom floor to the en-suite doors, wearing nothing but a skimpy thong, swaying her hips in the exact same way that she was now. It made him want to retch on the side of the road.

"For sure," Tessa smiled, or at least tried to smile. She definitely wasn't the biggest fan of Willow, as Magnus wasn't also. Willow waved as she departed and turned her back on them, taking long strides with her long legs down the block. Tessa rolled her eyes and cursed under her breath briefly, resulting in James laughing at her obscurities and kissing her on the top of her head.

"We could always give her the wrong directions." James suggested, which made them both join in with a short laughter. "Or, you know, lock her in one of the rooms at the cabin."

"Sounds_ fantastic _to me." Magnus replied and took out his phone from his back pocket. He checked through his messages and was more than disappointed to see that Alec hadn't tried to contact him yet. "Do you two want to go to Idris for the afternoon, possibly?" James looked over to Tessa for confirmation who smiled back at him brightly.

"Absolutely, I think we will be needing a nice day out, before school tomorrow. Your car or mine?" James asked as he linked his fingers, again, tightly through Tessa's.

"It doesn't matter, let's just get out of here."

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><p><strong>AN: **I'll be honest, I avoided this chapter like the plague. I don't know why, I just couldn't pump this out in the right way. There's been a lot on my mind, and I'm just trying to prepare myself to write to tizzy between Robert and Alec. Plus my week has been so emotionally stressful, please forgive me! Then, there's the Cabin chapters, which will be tons of fun and full of smut! Excited? I know I am. You guys have been waiting for it long enough, and it will be here in approximately, five chapters? (The Lemon). But don't hold me to that, it could be sooner or a bit later. Sorry for the long wait, I wanted to update 'Pillars of Sand' before this, because it is poorly neglected, but I didn't even get to that... You can tell how scattered I am ): One thing I wanted to address, many of you said that Jace shouldn't be freaking out yet, and I absolutely agree with you! Like Alec said, _"It has only been two days."_ Next chapter I will include a snippet from the Cabin chapters, and I need your help to decide which one (: Review with either A or B!

Review pretty please with some cookie dough on top?

**Amber,**


	41. All Things must Pass

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER FORTY**

_**All Things must Pass** _

_"Sunrise doesn't last all morning, a cloudburst doesn't last all day. Seems my love is up and has left you with no warning.  
>It's not always going to be this grey. All things must pass, all things must pass away.<br>Sunset doesn't last all evening, a mind can blow those clouds away.  
>after all this my love is up and must be leaving.<br>It's not always going to be this grey.__"_

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><p>Alec let out a deep, borderline shuddering, breath as he clasped the cold door knob in the palm of his sweaty hand. He could faintly hear the low murmur of his father's voice on the other side of the door; for a fleeting moment he wondered who he could possibly be talking to. In his mind he came up with the only name that seemed to plague him for the last fifteen or so minutes: AnnaMarie Highsmith. What was she like? Was she beautiful?—So captivating that she could rival the fair willowy appearance of his mother, Maryse, with her inky hair, pink-stained lips, and deep blue eyes? How could Robert do that to Maryse... How could he do that to his family? These were among the many thoughts running through Alec's mind that he couldn't quite decipher, but one thing was for sure:<p>

He didn't _hate _his father.

He definitely held a substantial amount of hate towards what his father _did_, but in all reality he was more hurt by the idea of Robert running off to a different life, than being mad about it. Maybe it was because he could see the good in people; looking past all the muddiness of their hidden transgressions, that he couldn't find it within himself to be so utterly mad at Robert to the point that he would never be able to forgive him.

Held in his left hand were the forms that Jace had found in the mail, no matter how stupid of a situation and or frame of mind he was in to obtain it, Alec was glad nevertheless to be in contact with this information. There was a small part, in the back of his mind telling him that none of this could be true; it just couldn't be. But possibly that part in the back of Alec's mind was the childhood that was still left within him. The childhood were everything was so contrasted and clustered together, that nothing bad ever came of anything.

He gripped the door knob even tighter, relishing sweetly in the cold bite it gave to his hot nerves, and let himself into Robert's sun-filled study. It was much like Gerald Bane's office, where the walls were filled with every book imaginable, but not as large or domed shaped. The room was all cherry wood and leather, the mixture of smells, intriguing. Robert sat, propped up, on one of his long dark green leather sofas that was embroidered in golden buttons. A small glass of burgundy wine lay on the floor next to the sofa, as well a small stack of books. This room was definitely planned out by his mother to fit Robert's likes—which confused Alec even more so, to a certain degree. Maryse had expected him to come home... Even with the information Jace and Alec were _sure_ she possessed a long time ago.

Robert looked up from the his phone that was resting in his lap and took off his thin reading glasses to address Alec. "Oh, was there something you needed? Have you found Jace yet? Because I know your mother mentioned that he wouldn't—"

"Yeah, no. I already talked to him." He said curtly, earning a slow unsure look from Robert. "Listen dad..." Alec began to close the door, not necessarily wanting Isabelle to over hear their conversation, while slipping the papers Jace had given him into his back pocket.

"Is that a bruise on your face? And Alec can this wait until later? I'm a bit busy at the moment and I need to get some things done before I meet up with your mother." Robert snapped his phone shut, then proceeded to place his reading glasses into the small pocket on the front of his dark grey suit jacket. He swept a stray lock of hair out of his eyes, acting completely nonchalant when Alec was standing there having some form of the beginnings of a breakdown in front of his him. _That _was quite possibly the thing to send Alec over the edge, among others.

"You cheated on her." Alec announced rather bluntly. At the word '_mother_', something within Alec was set off like a short fused sparkler. He didn't know where he mustered the courage to be so forth right to Robert, with such a comment however, as straight-handled as that. He was expecting to dance around the topic a bit, easing his way into the actual conversation, but now that option was shot out of the water.

"Excuse me?" Robert placed the phone on the cushion of the dark green sofa and started to get up.

"You cheated on mom!" Alec shouted; cringing for a second at the tone of his voice. Distantly he wondered if Jace might be listening in on the conversation from the other side of the door, or possibly Isabelle—much to his dismay.

"Alec," Robert raised his left hand to his face so he could pinch the bridge of his nose; closing his eyes momentarily before he walked over to the edge of his desk set further to the right of the room. "You don't understand—"

"Then _help_ me understand this dad." He hated when people used that against him—that he didn't '_understand_'—, especially for things he deemed explainable. However, one fault in Alec's character was that he could be quick to use that same statement in regard to his own situations. "Help me understand how you could have done this to the woman you love." Alec shock his head and laughed maliciously, on two accounts. The first being that he felt as if he were asking a whole lot of a man who was never that good at explaining things and secondly at the irony in his words. "That is, if you even love her."

"Of course I do." Robert snarled, boring his dark eyes into Alec's harshly. "I've loved your mother ever since she walked through my old schools doors wearing a black Beatles t-shirt and these hideous magenta pants. I have _never _stopped loving her." Robert rubbed the crease between his dark eyebrows, closing his eyes again, feigning the expression that he had become increasingly fatigued. "Have a seat Alec," Robert gestured to the sofa, with his right hand out stretched. The sunlight, from the large rounded window on the back wall, gleamed off of the wedding ring Robert had on—further spurring Alec's emotions into a state of utter turmoil.

"This isn't a conversation where you tell me to sit down and that everything is okay. I—It's not going to work like that dad." He shook his head and stood stoically still in his spot. Somehow, unwavering, even considering the fact that Alec felt as if his thick legs were crumpling and giving out on him too soon.

"What do you want me to tell you Alec?" Robert's voice quivered; as if he were on the cusp of falling into an endless void of pain. Or tears, to put it in simpler terms. For a moment the sound of his voice caught Alec off guard, and it was like he took in his own personal blow to his chest for getting _that _out of his father.

"How about the truth?" Alec suggested rather angrily. It took a moment for Alec to distinguish where the anger was coming from; because, as he had decided before he was not anger with Robert, he was hurt. Possibly the anger came from the fact that Alec was having a decidedly good day before Jace had to disrupt it. But that was way too mild of an occurence to make Alec this angry...

"I don't... I can't—"

"All of it." Alec interrupted once again, gaining a shred of confidence each time. His voice was studious, blunt and blank—he was holding perfect composure; at least that was what he was conveying on the outside. He couldn't appear unsure of anything he was saying, because that would only give Robert the leverage to use it against him.

"You want to know the truth _Alexander_? You want to hear first and foremost about the fact that I am _weak_?" Robert began, his voice hiking up an octave on each word. "That at the time that I gave into someone else it was because I wasn't man enough to face my own fears?" Robert shouted, the questions pouring out of him in such a tortured, scattered manner. "I loved Maryse so much, to the point that I started hating her; hating my life. After awhile we became each other, we worked around one another so much so that we were fully encased together. I _lost myself_ in my love for her—no matter how hard to believe—and I resented her for that."

"Then why—" Alec started.

"You will not interrupt me Alexander. You wanted to know this, you wanted to know the why, the who—"

"I already know who." Alec muttered to himself, too low for Robert to catch it—_or hopefully he didn't actually catch that_, Alec thought.

"Would you like to repeat that for me?"

"No, it was nothing. I just... Can't exactly comprehend..." He trailed off and thrust his hands into the front pockets of his pants; hooking his thumbs into the waistband.

"I didn't expect you to be able to." Robert placed his hand on the back of his neck, one of Alec's many quirks that he shared with him, and rubbed vigorously up and down, in his disgruntled state. "Look, you and Izzy were so young when Maryse and I split up..." They locked eyes from across the small expanse of space between them; Alec's lake blue eyes; questioning. Robert's dark eyes; conveying. "We _were _separated for a bit, a long time ago, and I was with someone else during that time. That was, until, your mother informed me that she was pregnant with Max."

"I didn't even know that, that was what was going on. I remember mom telling us that you were going to be home soon, that no matter what you were coming back." Alec felt a flash of warmth hit his eyes, recognizing the sign of impending tears. That was not what he went to his father to do; to cry. He quickly dashed away the tears that were threatening to spill over, with the pad of his thumb.

"Like I said, you two were very young. I didn't know if I was going to be able to come back, truly, but Max... He made me think of what I left behind. That little boy woke me up. He saved me, us." Robert was now leaning his hip against his desk, almost like the wood was the only thing holding him up; his voice was a quivering mess of words, bubbled around a cloud of grief.

"Please don't say that. I—I don't want to talk about M-Max." He stuttered on every word as sobs choked his throat. He wouldn't let the endless cries for his brother slip from his thin lips. Not now.

"Alec, I understand, we don't need to talk about him really. I was only trying to explain to you what you came here to hear." Robert sighed. "Look, these situations are very complicated to explain. You have to know that I do love your mother. But I can just be so weak, and that's hard for me to admit, Alec. After... Max died I felt as if that catalyst in my life, that kept me from giving up, was wrongfully taken from me. He was taken from all of us. And those years after Max's death, before I left, I couldn't handle anything at all. Nothing can compare to the pain of losing a child and feeling as if you have no one to truly go to."

"_Please, _I don't want to talk about Max." Alec's voice was on the brink of breaking, fading to the point that he would be unable to speak anymore.

"Alec I get it—"

"No you don't get it!" He cut Robert off with a booming yell. He could feel the heat of anger, loss, and despair roll off of him in harsh crackling waves. "No one will ever be able to understand. This is all my fault, you left—again—because of me. You got someone else pregnant, because of me."

"What?" Robert looked truly shocked and raised his hand to cover his mouth. His dark eyes only seemed to become darker as realization dawned on him. Alec slipped the papers, Jace had got from the mail box, onto Robert's desk right beside him. Robert looked down for a moment, taking in what Alec had just handed him and in the next moment his eyes shot up to regard Alec once again. "Where did you get this?" He whispered in disbelief.

"It doesn't matter where I got them from. All that matters is that you left us for... What dad? A better life? Aren't we enough?" A tear slipped from Robert's left eye then, followed by many more after that. Alec couldn't remember the last time he saw his father willingly cry in front of him. And then, he took a short second to think, coming to the conclusion that he had just broke something within his father.

"I can't explain any of this to you. I just can't," Robert hid his eyes under his hand, taking in shuddering breaths as tears stained his cheeks. "Your mother is such a good woman." He whispered. "She gave me you three and I lost sight of that and fell into complicated and deceiving situations after Max died. For that I am forever ashamed and regretful of. I... Can only ask that one day you find it within yourself to forgive me. To love me again." He choked up, causing Alec to shiver rather violently.

He couldn't see his father like this; he wouldn't. After all, this only enabled the silent building fear within Alec that he is exactly like his father, and that in a time of rebuilding after the fallout of a weakness avoided he, Alec, would want his loved ones to forgive _him, _to love _him _again whole-heartedly.

"Dad of course I love you. I just... I don't know anymore." Alec sighed as he slipped down against the wall right beside the door, resting his elbows onto his knees while bringing his fingers up and into his hair, treading lightly. "I just don't want to be shut out. I feel as if everyone, in their own way, has shut me out after Max d—died."

He saw the subtle shadow of his father's body loom over him and looked up for a flash of a second before Robert sat down across from him, perching his broad, sturdy back against his desk. "I don't want you to ever think that we shut you out for what happened Alec. Your mother and I just agreed that it would be better if you three didn't know about _this,_" he held up the papers regretfully, "for _this_ exact reason." He gestured with his index finger between them. "I'm so sorry that you feel deliberately kept out of things."

"It's okay." Alec sighed. "I've gotten so used to it, that sometimes I don't even realize it happening." He let out a short clipped laugh, instantly stopping when he saw the pained expression on Robert's face.

"We won't let secrets linger between us anymore. All my cards are on the table if you want them and they will forever more, be. You can choose to trust me if you would like and tell me what's going on with you." Robert paused, knitting his eyebrows tightly together. "I feel like I have lost touch as to who you are. If you want to talk, and I mean honestly _talk, _I'll be here for you Alec. That is, if you let me."

"Actually dad, th—there's something that I need to tell you." The anger and sorrow of their previous conversation was slowly being forgotten; although not yet resolved. The revelations made by Robert were a large piece of the puzzle to figuring out exactly what Alec went to his study, in the first place, looking for. But he wasn't completely satisfied just yet. "I'm—" A somewhat timid knock sounded on the closed-door and then Jace peeked his head in, taking stock of Alec and Robert sitting on the floor across from each other—Robert's eyes bloodshot from the tears he had shed and Alec nervously biting his bottom lip. _Had he been doing that the whole time? _

"Uhh, Alec, Magnus is at the door for you." Jace stuck out his thumb, pointing behind his shoulder. Jace's bright golden eyes ceased to stop skipping between studying Alec's and Robert's faces; going back and forth to gage exactly what had happened. Alec knew that this would be a moment for Jace to talk to Robert, and that his time with Robert could wait. Even if Jace wasn't Robert's and Maryse's biological son, they had cared for him like he was their own since they first held custody of him.

"He knows about it too," Alec quietly alluded to Robert, nodding his head to Jace. Robert understood and took in a deep breath through his nose.

"Jace why don't we talk now and Alec can go get the door?" He suggested as he got to his feet and brushed the palms of his hands against the back of his legs. Alec moved to get up as well, and shifted around Jace who stood hesitantly in the doorway of the study. Alec gave him a subtle nudge, urging him into the room. "And Alec?" Robert called after him, before he left the room completely. "I'll always be here."

Alec could feel hot, stinging tears well up in the back of his eyes, on the brink of bursting forth. He didn't say anything as he walked away from the room and made his way to the front foyer. The sight of Magnus standing on the threshold of his front door brought on an onslaught of emotions: relief and sadness mixed together. He was breaking, but only slightly, and yet he didn't care all that much, anymore, that it was in front of Magnus. He actually, somehow, _yearned _for the thought of having Magnus there to share in his lowest points.

Magnus smiled brightly for a second, but then immediately took in the look on Alec's face, his smile fading hastily. Alec pulled him to the side, away from the view out of the front door to where his car was parked, and backed him up against a wall; throwing his arms around Magnus' neck.

Alec sighed deeply as Magnus placed his hands tightly around Alec's waist, gripping the small of his back. The feeling of being held against Magnus was an amazing experience that Alec would bask in for the rest of his life if he was allowed to. "Alexander, what's wrong?" Magnus whispered, his warm breath tickling the fine hairs along the side of Alec's neck. Magnus tilted his head forward a bit and caught Alec's earlobe between his teeth, nipping lightly.

"I don't want to talk about it." Alec kissed Magnus' cheek lightly and pulled his head back to look into those shining green-yellow cat eyes that held the world within them. They were now rimmed with a thick splattering of shimmering gold glitter and a thin line of black eyeliner, pulling out the different hues of green and gold in Magnus' eyes. No matter how many times Alec studied Magnus' face, he was surprised every time to feel this immense amount of discovery; he liked the feeling.

"Alexander..." Magnus groaned in an exasperated fashion, loosening his hold against Alec's back.

"Wait, no." Alec pushed himself closer to Magnus, fitting into the planes of his body. "It's about my dad. And I will tell you, just not right now." Alec sheepishly smiled, while his eyebrows furrowed together on his forehead. "What I want to do right now is kiss you." He caught the subtle twitch of Magnus' lush lips tilting up at the corners into a smile, and took that as a sign to continue. "Can I?"

"Do you even have to ask, lovely?" Magnus closed the short distance between them, leaning in to capture Alec's lips with his own in a long, slow, passionate kiss. Ever since the night before, Alec felt as if they were most definitely going to be much more intense with one another, and this kiss only seemed to solidify that fact more so. Not to mention what they did in Magnus' car that morning hyped up that suspicion even more.

"Why are you here?" Alec asked once they both needed room for air within their lungs once again.

"Oh shit." Magnus breathed out. "Jem and Tessa are in the car waiting for us. I was supposed to go to Idris with them today and Jem suggested to bring you along." Alec dropped his hands from around Magnus' neck and at the same time Magnus returned his hands to his sides. Instantly, Alec missed Magnus' shiver inducing touch.

"Well then we, uhh, better not keep them waiting." Alec scratched the back of his neck and walked over to the left side of the foyer, slipping on a pair of his cream-colored shoes; thankful that he had decided to pull Magnus against the wall and kiss him instead of directly in view of Magnus' car outside.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to keep your hands to yourself today?" Magnus wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and started laughing when Alec threw him a scowl. "I was also wondering if you maybe wanted to have a little... Sleepover again at my place?" Alec gulped loudly at that, but didn't have any edge of doubt about the idea of sharing a bed with Magnus again. He bit his lip, in that way that he knew just drove Magnus crazy and nodded his head once. "Good, because spending all day with you and not being able to touch you sounds like absolute hell to me. And then we have school tomorrow, and the next day, and—"

"They're still waiting outside for us, you know." Magnus rolled his eyes playfully at Alec and muttered a low 'whatever' before he stalked his way past Alec and out of the front door.

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><p><strong>AN: **Oh gosh, I was frightened to write this author's note. So, as you all know I have been on a major hiatus of the sorts. If you read the previous author's note (that is now deleted) then you would know that I was on vacation for a bit, and that I did not have a laptop for a while once I came back). I'm good now, all will be better (especially with the updates). I did just start school again, but luckily this semester is extremely laid back and I can promise you that I will be writing a lot more! I have English as well, this semester, and I am hoping to improve in my writing where it needs improving! The conflict with Robert is still not completely resolved, he definitely tried to deflect attention from AnnaMarie and you'll find out why later on. I'm trying to get more into Alec's inner thoughts, because I feel as if I focus a lot on Magnus' emotions and not enough on Alec's, in some respect? I don't know exactly, you tell me! I also want to give a shout out to a lovely user be the name 'ItsRainingSideways' who drew me a picture of Magnus and posted it on her deviant art. I am beyond flattered and just so happy that someone would consider to do that for this story. I like to think that my story has touched your lives, in any way really.

Thank you for sticking with me throughout all of this and for those of you who are still here, reading what I am writing you deserve the treat I promised last time:

_"Please, harder." Magnus nearly screamed as Alec continuously pounded away inside of him; sweat dripping between the crease of his eyebrows and shoulders. He was trying desperately not to fall over the edge before Magnus did—he wanted to see everything; see the look on Magnus' face as Alec brought him to sheer ecstasy. He picked up his pace, thrusting harder, so much so that the only sounds in the room were the low husky moans emitting from their lips, the soft patter of rain drops against the windows overhead and skin slapping against skin."_

Let's see if we can get it to 700 for a faster update? Review please?

**Amber,**


	42. I don't need you

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER FORTY ONE**

_**I don't need you** _

_"Now I'm in town, break it down, thinking of making a new sound. Play a different show every night, in front of a new crowd.  
>That's you now, ciao. Seems that life is great now—see me lose focus as I sing to you loud.<br>I can't, no I won't hush. I say the words that make you blush.  
>I'm going to sing this now<em>_.__"_

* * *

><p>Magnus walked through the cluttered hallways, dodging fast-moving bodies as he went, with Alec by his side. They kept a comfortable distance between them, to keep up with impressions mainly, but they weren't so far apart that Magnus couldn't feel the heat of Alec's creamy skin seep out of him. That alone jolted Magnus back to what the previous night had been like after they had spent the day in Idris with James and Tessa.<p>

Not that the day wasn't memorable or anything, it was just that the night had been even better. Alec had never been to Idris and was fascinated by the perplexity of the cities boundaries alone. It was huge, massive—in comparison to Alicante. When you first drove into the city all around you were old Victorian styled households that were impeccably spotless; the up-keep of Idris being near perfect. Along a thick cobble-stoned road leading up to the top of the hill in Idris, were the shops and restaurants that people delighted in from afar. Really, Magnus usually found himself visiting Idris on occasion when he was having his off days, just so he could bask in the luxury of the city. At the top of the hill there was the main city hall; a towering and wide structured building that almost looked like the structures in Athens, surrounded by three pillars made of pure glass. It was the highlight of the city, and they all spent the day carting Alec around to their favorite spots.

There were a few stolen kisses along the way... When Magnus would suggest for Tessa and James to go ahead without them, and then pull Alec into a back alley, quickly, to ravish the hell out of him. Each time, Alec would have his breath taken away and left fully satisfied; until the next time. But nothing could compare to the time they spent completely alone in Magnus' bedroom after they coaxed Maryse into letting Alec stay over, before she left that night to go back home. They spent the rest of the night, and well into the morning exploring one another's bodies—teasing and touching, brushing and caressing, every inch of skin.

If Magnus focused hard enough he could still hear and ultimately feel Alec rapidly panting in his ear, as he used his hand—again—on the most sensitive part of Alec's body, pushing him closer and closer to the edge. Every rise and fall of Alec's chest was graceful, but at the same time disastrously sexy. The image of Alec laying beside him was engraved on the inside of his eyelids, and he longed to close his eyes for the rest of the day—but naturally school became the disruption of that fantasy.

Another thing that absolutely tipped Magnus into a furry of heated emotions was simply knowing that Alec was wearing, not one, but _two _articles of Magnus' clothing. The first being a plain white shirt—quite possibly the only plain thing Magnus owned that wasn't embellished with something—which fit Alec rather... Tightly. The expanse of Alec's chest in comparison to Magnus' was greater; he had more muscle tone to his body, therefore creating a magnificent image for Magnus to stare at. It took awhile for Magnus to cajole Alec into wearing the shirt, and finally he won out when Magnus offered Alec a flourescent purple sweater as the other option.

The second piece of clothing, that Alec adorned, was a pair of fire-red boxer briefs that had always been a little too small for Magnus. He watched as Alec slipped them on hurriedly that morning, attempting to hide himself from Magnus, much to his dismay. That thought caused blood to rush in all the right—and at the same time wrong—places for Magnus. He had to be careful; bite his tongue; not let his mind wander; now that they were in school.

He was becoming completely accustomed to the fact that with Alec, they would always need to hide things. Maybe not from Isabelle, Sarah or Sage—which Magnus had yet to mention to Alec—but to everyone else they were two guys who fell into a fast friendship, not exactly a _relationship_. On the outside, Alec appeared to be even straighter than Jace in some sense. He was very much a jock, that had the body to go along with it. On the other hand, Magnus was a bit more flamboyant with his looks and the way he acted, but the thing that set him apart from being branded as gay to others was the fact that he had only ever dated girls. And, had quite the reputation.

They stopped at Alec's locker briefly, so he could pick up his bag that he left there the week previous and a pair of work out shorts that he needed for the schools soccer try-outs after school. Magnus watched as the muscles in Alec's arms and back subtly flexed as he wrestled to close his stubborn lock.

"Magnus," Alec sighed, leaning his back against his locker.

"Hmm?" Magnus quirked his eyebrow and shoved his right hand into the back pocket of his tight leather pants.

"You've been staring at me ever since we got up this morning." Alec pointed out, a bit seriously, with a hint of a impish smile on his pale face.

"...And is that a bad thing? Do you _want_ my eyes to wander towards some other unsuspecting person?" Magnus teased as he took a step forward, closing in on Alec who was still leaning against his locker in a nonchalant way. At the simple movement that Magnus made, Alec's lake blue eyes widened and he instantly stepped out of the way, rounding off to the side. For a short moment Magnus was perplexed as to why Alec rejected his advances, then, he had to remind himself _again_ that they were in school. It was proving to be harder than he expected to maintain an impression on others when he was around Alec.

"Don't you think people will notice that all you do is stare at me?" Alec asked, nibbling on his bottom lip.

"Someone's very sure of themselves today," Magnus winked as Alec's face flushed with color, his cheeks staining a bright vivid red.

"I—I didn't, uhm, mean that—"

"Alexander, I know." Magnus shook his head and chuckled lightly to himself. The way Alec tended to stumble over his words was so endearing, Magnus couldn't possibly get enough of it. He liked every aspect of Alec; the nervous part, the confident part, the sensitive and caring parts. He just _really _liked Alec. Even if Alec wasn't his boyfriend and they weren't in the situation that they were now, he could see himself always valuing the friendship and company Alec had to offer. "And I'm sorry. I do get carried away a lot, with just looking at you."

"What do you think about?" Alec inquired, a small almost unnoticeable glint of smoldering light flickered in the core of his eyes.

"When I look at you? Wouldn't you like to know," Magnus smirked widely and began to walk away, jerking his head slightly to indicate for Alec to follow, so they wouldn't be late for their first block: English.

"Is that too weird of a question to ask?" Alec wondered out loud, not that he was angry that Magnus didn't give him an answer, but more so that he questioned his own actions in asking it.

"Not at all." Magnus stopped when they reached the closed bright orange door of Ms. Graymark's classroom. "I think about you, or more so what we do... At night." Alec gulped strongly, his Adam's apple bobbing up, then down. It was sometimes weird thinking that Alec was this confident sex-fiend in the bedroom—car or boat—when they were alone, but here, out in the open Alec clamed up timorously. "Oh come on, don't feign like you don't have the same dirty, sexy thoughts that I do Alexander."

"Yeah, well I'm a bit more subtle about it than you are." He muttered in retort under his breath.

"You're the one who asked, lovely." Magnus pointed out and clasped his hand around the shiny metal of the doorknob. The bell would be ringing in a couple of minutes and although Magnus was never in class occasionally early, he decided that today he needed to talk to William about some outstanding circumstances that had come up. One being the fact that for sure he was backing out of whatever plan William had him agree to in the first place; the other being to keep himself and Alec a secret. It would be a lie to say that William had no idea what was going on between Alec and Magnus; as to the expanse of things going on between them, William didn't exactly know... But he had enough information from Magnus to suggest that there was a relationship in place.

He was in way too deep with Alec, and he wasn't going to let anything jeopardize his relationship with Alec, even if that meant losing a bond between a long-time friend. Was he ready to do that though? He didn't exactly know, but it needed to be done. Magnus made his way over to his seat, which was currently occupied by Sebastian, who was hassling Clary about something. She kept her head down though, staying concentrated entirely on the empty surface of her desk.

"Hello, Clare-bear," Sebastian waved his hand in front of her face, but somehow she didn't flinch at all. "_Clary_," he drawled out in a sing-song voice.

"What's wrong with her?" Magnus questioned Sebastian, as he got up from Magnus' seat.

"Beats me. She just walked in her this morning and didn't say a word to us." He shrugged his broad shoulders and made his way to the seat directly behind her, and beside Johnathan. Magnus noticed Alec's eyes shift to Clary hesitantly, before he took his own seat in front of Magnus. _Odd, _Magnus thought—considering the fact that Clary was usually lively and not at all like the stoic mannequin she was acting like now; and Alec must know something about it.

William walked in the classroom with seconds to spare; taking a leisurely slow walk to his desk as he went. His hair was swept to one side; curled at the nape of his tan neck. He was wearing a dark blue hoodie, with starch-white draw-strings, and a pair of black jeans. Magnus could remember, faintly now, when the image of _William _was the thing to rouse his desires. But that feeling had since left, once he met Alec, if he had to think about it.

Before William walked past Alec's desk to go to his own, there was a small exchange between the two; a sort of curt nod that conveyed something Magnus was unaware of. He did take into account that William's deep blue eyes narrowed slightly to Alec, and he considered that something must have happened between them that William didn't like at all.

"Mr. Herondale, why don't you hurry to your seat a bit. We do not have all day to watch you walk." Ms. Graymark called from the front of the classroom, earning a few laughs from the class, as she began to scribble on the white board in green felt. She wrote a list of short stories on the board and the corresponding pages that they could be found on. Among the list were stories such as "Horses of the Night" and "Paul's case"—short stories which Magnus had already completed reading years ago after finding a grey book shoved in a little nook of a bookcase, in his father's study. "Okay class. Today I want you to partner up, and no Eric I mean partners, not groups of twenty or so. You will need to read over this material together and discuss the basic connotative and denotative language used in these stories."

Everyone was silent for a short while, staring blankly ahead at Ms. Graymark, who had her hands bunched into fists at her hips. "Well," she stressed, tucking a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear. "Get to it." And with that people in the class began to partner up, moving their desks together. Magnus had the decision of asking William to work with him, on the notion that he could talk to him about backing out of the _plan_, or Alec. Quickly, the idea of working with Alec won out and just as he was about to tap on Alec's shoulder, William got up out of his desk and came to stand beside Alec—much to Magnus' surprise.

"Do you want to work together?" William asked Alec quietly.

"I... Uhm," Alec blundered, looking back at Magnus curtly.

"Oh come on, I don't bite." William smirked maliciously, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly. "I also have to talk to you about something," he whispered, probably trying to advert Magnus' attention away from them, in which it didn't work. Alec nodded his head hesitantly and got out of his desk, stealing another quick glance to Magnus, before he followed William to the back of the room.

"Do you... Want to work together?" A small voice questioned from Magnus' side, pulling his attention from William and Alec. He turned his head to find Clary staring at him, her emerald eyes rimmed and hazy with pink and red—as if she had been crying.

"Of course," Magnus shifted his desk over, until it connected with the edge of Clary's. She had her hands folded and tucked under the desk, in her lap. Her thumbs were lazily running circles across the palms of her hands absent-mindedly. "Will you tell me what's wrong?" Magnus implored.

"Mag, I don't want to talk about it. Can we just work on the assignment?" She sighed loudly, letting her fiery crimson curls fall in front of her pale face, shielding those vivid eyes and the dusted freckles splattered all over her face.

"I can find every connotative and denotative word in a couple of minutes. Trust me." Magnus stated as he pushed her hair back behind her ear. "Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong." He said quietly, in a soothing voice. It broke his heart to see Clary in this state of distress. He had only ever seen her like this on one other occasion; when their mother walked out on them for a short period of time. She raised one of her, now, trembling hands to her mouth and breathed out a slow shaky breath. It took a few moments for her to muster up the courage to talk; she used her hand like it was a paper bag, breathing in and out deeply through her fingers to calm herself down.

"I think I'm, oh god." She closed her eyes tightly. "I might be..." She stopped again, relentless on continuing.

"Clary, it's me. You can trust me with anything. It can't be that ba—"

"I might be pregnant." She whispered out in a rush—looking around quickly to see if anyone had been listening—cutting Magnus off in the process. Or more so stunning him into utter disbelief.

"Pregnant?" Magnus asked incredulously, his thick eyebrows rising high on his forehead. "You mean Jace got you pregnant? When did this happen?" Magnus made sure he kept his voice down; Johnathan, Clary's brother, wasn't too far away from where they were sitting. He could only imagine what Johnathan would do if he found out Jace had impregnated his little sister.

"Homecoming. We were so stupid. We should have been protected, and now..."

"You can't know if you're pregnant yet, Clary. It takes some time for these things to happen." Magnus placed his hand on her wool clad back, rubbing his hand in a small circular pattern.

"Don't say that. Honestly Magnus, what are the chances that I'm _not_ pregnant? I can't—Magnus, if my dad finds out... I don't know what I will do." Silent tears began to leak out of her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. "How am I suppose to raise a child on my own? For sure, Valentine is going to kick me out of the house. I can't do this... Not now."

"What does Jace think about all of this?"

"I... Haven't been talking to him..." She told Magnus, regretfully.

"Clary!" Magnus admonished as she flinched at the height of his voice.

"Don't Mag, you don't understand what this is like... To wonder if I'm carrying a baby or not. And I don't expect him to be able to understand it either." She huffed and crossed her thin arms over her chest, leaning back fully in her seat. Magnus slid his hand out from behind her and placed it on her knee, squeezing lightly.

"Do I necessarily need to understand what it's like? No. Because obviously, I wouldn't be able to give you an answer for whatever it is that you're looking for. But Clary, don't think for a second that Jace might not know. He is in the same situation as you. Not, that he has to carry a baby inside of his stomach and push it out of his—"

"I think I'm going to puke."

"Because of what I was about to say?" He quirked his eyebrow, tilting his head back to get a better look at her. She was a shy bit paler than usual and tiny creases lined her forehead greedily; but that could be attributed to the substantial amount of stress Magnus knew she must have put on herself.

"Forget it." She sighed loudly, bending over to her left to search through her large fuchsia tote bag. "I'm just not going to freak out," she placed a handful of colored point pens on top of the desk surface and then hastily dove back into her bag. "Everything will be fine, if I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant." She slammed her books down onto the desk next, and all around them, people turned to look their way. Her hand was back in her bag before Magnus could even mutter a retort and he looked upon her with such... Fascination. On the outside, he would have thought she was having a breakdown; he couldn't even imagine what it could be like on the inside for her. "I just need to stop freaking—"

"Out?" Magnus clarified, catching her wrist once she brought out a lip balm palette. "That's exactly what you're doing right now."

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Sebastian walked up beside her desk and squatted down so he was eye level with her. He was annoying, in the way that he thought he knew how to counsel people in their life—giving, most of the time, hopeless advice. But that was Sebastian, really, never fully taking things at face value in a serious light. Magnus could see the beginnings of a smirk stretch across Sebastian's lazy lips and he knew that whatever came out of his mouth next would push things over the edge. "Is little Jace not putting out enough for you? We," he pointed between them, and Magnus watched as Clary's face turned bright red—not with embarrassment, but with anger. "Could try _us _out again. I promise that I can give you whatever you want," he sneered.

"I think I'm just going to go," Clary whispered lightly to Magnus, shoveling all the materials, she took out in haste, back into her tote bag. They watched as Clary made her way to Ms. Graymark's desk, talking to her briefly before Clary left the room. Magnus shook his head and glared at Sebastian.

"What?" He returned Magnus' harsh gaze.

"She doesn't deserve your condescending words at the moment Sebastian. We all know how you love to whore yourself around, but she obviously doesn't want that." Magnus pushed out of his seat, picking up his bag and hiking it up his shoulder. He turned and started towards the back of the room where William and Alec were bent towards each other talking. It was an odd sight to see; as if both were attempting to stay away from one another, putting a large distance between their bodies, but at the same time they were trying to keep their conversation closely kept—their necks bowing down in awkward angles.

"What am I supposed to tell him?" Magnus could hear Alec say from the short distance away. "He's going to keep asking about it," Alec hissed as William rolled his eyes.

"Tell who, what?" Magnus made his presence noticeable, catching Alec completely off guard. Alec flushed a light red and nervously gnawed at his bottom lip. William crossed his arms over his chest; a small smile on his pink lips. Both didn't give any reply to Magnus' question and he became increasingly annoyed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was interrupting a _very _private conversation, wasn't I?" Magnus inquired sarcastically.

"No, Magnus—" Alec began, but William instantly intercepted him.

"We were just talking about who gave him that bruise." William shrugged nonchalantly as Alec slightly gasped. As to why he did, Magnus didn't completely know. Maybe it was the fact that Alec was scared about what Magnus would think about the fact that Alec could discuss with _William_ who gave Alec his bruises, but not Magnus. Granted, that did actually make him staggeringly mad and he could fully see why Alec would have gasped, once he thought about it.

"Oh? So you can talk to him about it, but not me, huh?" Magnus said straightly, shrugging off the slight burn that came with Alec not being able to trust him.

"I saw what happened at Homecoming. And I just wanted to see if Alec was okay. He doesn't want to tell you, because he doesn't want to make it a big deal. Right, Alec?" William turned to him, and silently conveyed a small message with his eyes.

"Yeah... Really Magnus, I... It's no big deal." Alec cast his eyes down to his cream colored shoes, shuffling on his heels slightly. Magnus didn't realize it instantly, but his mouth had fallen agape to the situation. If Alec couldn't trust him with that kind of information, could he even fully and truly trust Alec at all?

"Class, straighten out your desks. The bell is about to go." Ms. Graymark called from the front of the classroom. Without hesitation, Magnus walked away from both William and Alec, making his way for the bright orange door. He didn't look back as he heard Alec call out to him, although he did flinch momentarily, wanting to wait for Alec. But in that second he didn't know what accusatory words would fall from his lips, had he waited.

It was safe to say that Magnus was more than a little bit pissed off. And it was also, safe to say that he was beginning to care about the trivial things in life.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Small-ish_ hiccup in paradise you guys! It isn't anything that would break them up really... Or is it? Don't worry about Magnus and Alec for a moment (although, that's what I would still do if I were in your situation), worry about Clary! I can't imagine being in a situation such as that, but I give respect to all the girls who have had children very young. (Not that Clary is _for sure _pregnant though...) Will I include William's and Alec's conversation in the next chapter? I'm not all too sure yet... Maybe I will just have to make you guys wait for those words to be released in the future. I'm terrible aren't I? So next chapter could either be: the rest of the school day, a different school day, or the beginnings of the lake chapters (which is less than likely). I build up things too much don't I? Forty-One chapters in, and there's barely any smut... I'm working on it :)!

Something that (oh gosh) I should have mentioned a long time ago is that all of these chapter titles and the italicized writing underneath them, are all Beatles songs! I, personally, love the Beatles, and I'm just mentioning this now (oh gosh again) just in case some of you didn't know that. But now, I am changing up the chapter songs, and this one is by Ed Sheeran (it's actually called: You need me, I don't need you. But that was too long of a title...).

Another thing! (This is becoming such a long authors note...) I got a review today, that basically said they didn't understand how I would wrap this story up in nine chapters :P... Tehehe, so at the beginning I might have said this story was going to be forty-fifty chapters. I'm thinking now it will be at least... sixty?

I'm so happy that I didn't lose a lot of you during my hiatus, and I was even happier that I got reviews for last chapter! Thank you so much.

**Review pretty please?**

**Amber,**


	43. Trouble

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER FORTY TWO**

_**Trouble** _

_"Trouble... Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble. Trouble been doggin' my soul since the day I was born  
>Worry... Worry, worry, worry, worry. Worry just will not seem to leave my<br>__mind alone. We'll I've been... Saved by a woman.  
>I've been... Saved by a woman<em>_.__"  
>-Ray LaMontagne<em>

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><p>He missed—again.<p>

It was at least the fifth goal that he had struggled to even obtain, and the fifth one that he botched, at the end of his long sprints down the field. He looked down towards the opposite side where Jace stood nervously biting his finger nails down to the quick, and Jace was rarely ever nervous when it came to sports. He wasn't doing much better than Alec, fumbling on certain passes and failing to score on others. The muscles in Alec's calves and abdomen burned with the ache that soccer endurance trials brought with it, and this ache was anything but dull. It resonated throughout his body, to some extent, starting at the caution areas and spreading outwards.

His head was not where it should have been at the present moment in time, and the same went for Jace, whose mind and thoughts were souly based on Clary—essentially the numerous amount of hardships they were bound to face. Alec's mind, on the other hand, was concentrated on the blazing defeated look that Magnus adorned back in English class that morning; the same look that continued to blaze throughout the day. For the most part, Magnus had avoided Alec, though Biology proved to be an obstacle given that they were partners. But, somehow, Magnus had managed to make Alec feel completely disconnected from him. He was... Gone, for the moment, to Alec.

Not so far gone that he didn't speak a single word to Alec earnestly, but there was a cold detachment behind his fiery green-yellow cat eyes. That's the thing that cut down Alec the most: the fact that it wasn't necessarily a situation that he could handle—it was a situation that he shouldn't have _had _to handle in the first place.

Alec didn't know exactly what to do, and he desperately thought that this was the best way—not telling Magnus the truth about William punching him—to protect Magnus.

Back in English, when William pulled Alec to the back of the room, William didn't even hesitate before he jumped right to the point at hand; diving head first into the issue as if it was a normal nonchalant topic to talk about. That was one thing that Alec couldn't quite grasp about William's character: behind his brooding deep blue eyes anyone would be able to see a swarm of emotions flaring, but the way he acted was so neutral. He _had _to be hiding something, that much was clear.

He told Alec, simply, that by telling Magnus the truth about the whole ordeal, they would indirectly put him in a compromising position of either believing William, his best friend, or Alec, his boyfriend—for all intents and purposes.

And one thing was for sure in Alec's perspective: William was going to deny the fact that something had happened between them, for however long he could hold on to his false truth. Alec debated within his mind, because he hopelessly wanted Magnus to know the truth; it didn't sit well with him that he was keeping this from Magnus... Among other things... But Magnus deserved this small truth from Alec, and then on the other side of things Alec couldn't and wouldn't force Magnus to choose between William and himself.

A small part of him knew that it was because he was scared of the outcome being Magnus trusting William in the end—and he didn't know what he would do if that happened. And then there was the larger part of him, that didn't want to make Magnus choose. That was never fair to anyone, especially given the circumstances—

"Lightwood!" A whistle was blown close by, piercing Alec's already ringing ears. They were going through endurance games and trials that were pushing his senses to the limit. He looked in the direction that the coach was standing, with his burly arms crossed over his chest, the shiny silver whistle still ever-present on is thick lips. For a second Alec was confused about who the coach was calling out to—either him or Jace.

He glanced down the field for a quick second again, finding Jace in the same perplexed state that he was in. "Yeah the both of you!" The coach, who only wanted to be called Pangborn, bellowed, pointing his bear sized fingers in their direction. A second later, wasting no time at all, he blew furiously again on his whistle, as if it were another breathing mechanism for him—snapping Alec to attention.

They bounded their way over to the side line, and Alec hiked up the bottom of his shirt to wipe the fresh sweat off of his forehead. "Don't just stand there!" Pangborn yelled at the other guys who were trying out for the Senior Soccer team. It seemed that all he did was shout to the point that Alec feared his ears would start to bleed. "I need to talk to the both of you," he looked down at a stale white clip board that rested in his large hands, "Johnathan—"

"Jace," he interrupted the coach, gaining a blank scowl.

"_Jace _and Alexander—"

"Alec," he cringed when he heard his own raspy voice shoot off his name; a completely second nature reaction that he had when anyone called him Alexander. Well, anyone except Magnus. And there went his thoughts again.

"You guys have any other fancy names that you want to tell me, before I continue talking?" Pangborn barked sarcastically, frown lines appeared around his lips and across his forehead. They both winced and shook their heads from side to side quickly. "Good," he grinned, bearing a toothy, cynical smile. "You know what? Your old coach from back East notified me about you two. He told me that you were _so_ good, that I wouldn't need to put you guys through any trials." He laughed and rolled his eyes.

"_Just slap them on the team._" He changed his voice, attempting to act out how their old coach might have said that. He waved his hand in front of his face, gesturing for them to lean in closer. "But I'll tell you a little secret..." Pangborn held their anticipation well, causing Alec to breathe a little too deeply through his nose. "I'm not liking what I'm seeing! So you two better get your acts together and prove to me that you deserve a spot on this team!" He snarled, shifting his clipboard underneath his left armpit before he could grab onto the front fabric of their shirts—yanking them to his sides.

"Yes sir?" Jace furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of what to say.

"You need to watch that tone of voice you use with me boy. Even if you're some soccer star, I'll have you kicked off this team faster than you can say _'yes sir' _again." He sneered, releasing their sweat soaked shirts. "Go take a break or whatever. And when you think you're game enough to show me something good out there—come back." And with that he blew his whistle one more time; deafening Alec for a moment.

* * *

><p>His back hit the hard stone wall forcefully, creating both a subtle release and absorption of tension. But, at this point, he would throw his back against the wall multiple times just for the brief rush of strain leaving his aching muscles. Alec slid down, until he was crouching on his knees, the cold lacquer floor bit into his heated flesh. Restlessly his fingers threaded throughout his charcoal black locks; his nails scraping against his scalp lazily as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth, involuntarily.<p>

While his mind should have been focused on soccer—the reason that he was inside attempting to collect himself—he couldn't help his wayward mind drift towards thoughts of Magnus. This relationship couldn't be perfect, it just _couldn't_; no relationship was as smooth as a flat prairie, there had to be dips and protrusions along the way. And quite honestly Alec expected that not everything would be easy; he just didn't imagine that it would be this hard and that he would feel so hurt and confused by everything.

"Alexander," he picked his head up sharply at the call of his name from down the hall. Magnus was striding towards him, his long tawny fingers shoved into the front pockets of his dark waxy pants. Magnus' hair was turned up into numerous spikes on the top of his head; light swatches of glitter lined the tips of the inky strips. "Alexander," he called out again as he got closer, since Alec made no reply.

Alec quickly bounded to his feet, scuffing his sneakers harshly on the floor. Magnus choked out a short laugh at the hastiness that Alec just demonstrated. He blushed, the heat scorching his cheeks. Hesitantly he began to walk to Magnus, meeting him halfway in the middle of the empty hall.

He didn't know what to expect, but for sure he didn't expect Magnus to grab a hold of his face, bringing his lush lips forcefully down onto Alec's lips. Alec whimpered at the contact, wrapping his hands around Magnus' waist.

Magnus drew his tongue across Alec's bottom lip, his spicy cinnamon taste invaded Alec's mouth as he sighed and met Magnus' tongue halfway—followed by a battle over control. He didn't realize it yet, but during the heated, breathless moments that they were kissing, Magnus had backed Alec up until they hit a locker, a resounding thud rocked around them. Alec gripped the small of Magnus' back tighter, relishing in the feel of Magnus' body beneath his hands.

Now, Magnus had trailed his palms away from Alec's cheeks, brushing them down... Down over the front of Alec's sweat soaked shirt—causing him to shiver and blush—to where the hem of his shirt met his shorts; where Magnus began to dip his fingers under the waist band, teasing the heated skin until it dimpled.

"I thought you were mad at me," Alec whispered against Magnus' lips, never releasing the connection that they made between them. "I didn't think you wanted to see me," he sighed loudly as Magnus thrust his hands fully into his shorts, weaving them around to grip Alec's back side. The coldness of his hands almost made Alec yelp, but he held it back—kissing Magnus even harder to mute the sound.

Magnus said in between kisses, "I can't," brush of lips, "stay mad," torturous tongue dip, "at you." He pulled his face back from Alec's and at the same time, pulled his lower body closer, until their hips were forcefully pressed together. He could feel how excited Magnus had become, just from their simple kissing, and no doubt Magnus could feel Alec's own arousal.

This was what it was like for them: A earth-shattering physical connection, a similar interest in literature—which they both held very dear to their hearts—, and this deep emotional bond that Alec couldn't simply explain. Things may have been fast, but he felt as if Magnus was an entity of his life, one which was lost until the first time they had locked eyes. He imagined it at that moment, staring into those green-yellow cat orbs that first mesmerized him, and wondered if he knew it back then... If he knew that he was in lo—

He couldn't finish his own thoughts, only because it scared him. It scared him whole heartedly thinking that, that four letter word or three-letter sentence could tip the scales at any moment; and for sure at that point in time, he would be all in—all of his cards would be laid out on the table, and he wasn't sure that he was ready for that just yet.

"What are you thinking about?" Magnus pulled his left hand out of Alec's shorts and raised his hand to Alec's face, rubbing the spot above Alec's eyebrow with the pad of his thumb.

"Nothing," he lied. "I just... I thought you were mad at me." He let the morning seep into his bones again, causing his sturdy shoulders to fall under the weight.

"I was." Magnus steadied his gaze on the patch of skin directly above Alec's eyebrow. "It took me awhile to realize that I can't force you into telling me everything. I know you'll tell me what happened—when you're ready. And I guess back in English, I just couldn't accept that."

"But why? If this is only because Will knows—"

"Stop. It _isn't_ only because Will knows. It's the fact that I can't protect you from this," he lightly feathered his fingers down to Alec's nose, making sure not to place too much pressure onto the bruise that had finished blossoming. "I want to be able to protect you Alexander, and I feel as if I have already failed at that. But I won't push you away because of it, and stupidly enough, it took me the whole day and watching your soccer try-outs to figure that out." He chuckled under his breath.

"Oh gosh," Alec lowered his head, "you were watching my pathetic display of soccer?"

"...And wondering why you weren't scoring any goals, in mind of me. I think that's when it clicked in my head that this was affecting you, just as much as it was affecting me." Magnus' eyes saddened at his little revelation, and Alec felt the undeniable need to take that pain away. He leaned into Magnus' face, as if it were second nature to do so, and captured is lips in a soft, delicate, rapture.

They stayed like that for a little while, placing slow lingering kisses on one another's lips, drawing out each movement, pulling unadulterated sounds from the base of each other's throats, nipping, biting, and teasing... This is what Alec longed for. "So we're okay?" Alec placed his forehead against Magnus' breathing deeply through his lips, attempting to regain the stolen air from his lungs.

"We're more than _okay_, lovely." Magnus pushed his body away from Alec's relentlessly, stepping back to give him space. "Now go show me what those thighs of yours can _really _do." Heat eclipsed Alec's face; he knew his thigh muscles were quite huge and firm, given the countless years he had been involved in sports, but the connotation behind Magnus' words caused his mind to stray towards other things that the muscles in his thighs could be handy for. "You're thinking about it aren't you?" Magnus smirked seductively, his voice lowering. "We could test out just how much endurance those muscles could take... When we're at the lake." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and let out a curt laugh when he saw a bright red blush taint Alec's pale cheeks.

"Uh, I, well," Alec tried to build up courage. "Yeah, I guess we could test them out. You better be prepared for me." He winked, and essentially that was the best he could muster. For a fleeting moment he wondered how dirty talk with Magnus would go... And immediately cringed at the thought.

"Oh I will be prepared, in more ways than one." He leaned in quickly to kiss Alec's flamed cheek and took off down the hallway. Alec smiled wistfully after him, loving the way that his shoulder blades stuck out faintly, because of how confidently Magnus held himself, and the way his butt looked wrapped securely in his waxy pants.

* * *

><p>Alec had made his way back outside to find Jace on the field already picking up his momentum, weaving in and out of the fast-moving players, darting toward—and after—him. Alec noticed that the way he pumped his arms, wasn't with as much force as he usually had, and that told Alec that Jace still had his head somewhere else, but would still be able to pull off a show for coach Pangborn.<p>

He felt terrible about what was happening to Jace, although nothing was really solidified. He knew that if Clary was pregnant, Maryse would ring Jace's neck high and mightily, but she would support him, just as Robert would do the same. Alec couldn't say much for Clary's parents on the other hand... When he had met Jocelyn, she didn't act as if she disliked Jace, but she didn't act as if she liked him either. It was as if she couldn't size him up properly, and that didn't sit well with Alec; Jace was who he was up front, hiding barely anything, that she didn't need to search for anything that he could be hiding.

And then there was Valentine, someone who Alec didn't know how to react to. He was a lot like Johnathan, a bit rough around the edges, sociable, and clearly both had a prominent mean streak within them. But, Alec could say that Johnathan was a good guy by nature, a bit too over protective of Clary—what brother wasn't protective of their younger sisters?—and at the same time Alec couldn't say that he thought Valentine was a good man. Maybe once he was, but those cold dark black eyes told numerous stories as to how he must have been broken down over the years.

He feared that they would take Clary's pregnancy badly, and he didn't want that for her; to be completely alienated by her parents at the age of seventeen for a careless mistake. But consequences weren't put in place for nothing, and if she was pregnant they would handle it over time. It wouldn't be easy though.

"Lightwood!" _That damn whistle, _Alec thought as Pangborn called him over. "Are you good now? Are you going to show me that you can be on this team?"

"Yes," he made sure not to add the _'sir'_ at the end.

"Don't just stand there then. Get on that field." He gave Alec a small shove in the direction of the open field. He sprinted over and took stance as he waited for the ball to shift down the field into his zone. He hopped on the balls of his feet, shaking out his hands—preparing himself to show Pangborn exactly what he was capable of doing. The ball was coming his way, and he knew that he needed to calculate his steps quickly to make sure that he didn't botch any more goals.

He intercepted a pass from the opposite team of guys, who were wearing red mesh pinnies, and kicked the ball up behind his back so that it would come forward a little bit and bounce off of his head. With that step out of the way, and the ball flying a few feet in front of him, he took off after it like a jaguar hunting its prey; darting around fast-moving bodies that were either with or against him. The hot humid air waved around him, stinging his eyes and making his palms sweat viciously. He carried on down the field though, until Jace came into view, and instead of taking the goal for himself—that he knew he wouldn't miss—he kicked the ball down to Jace who in turn scored.

Alec was always someone who didn't like the attention heavily focused on himself, and that was one of the simplest things he valued in Jace—he could take the heat off of him. They continued on with a few more games, and then a dozen more endurance trials which pushed Alec to his breaking point and beyond. By the time they were done, Alec was wheezing painfully through his mouth and nose, hands pressed tightly to his knees. His face was bright red, while his hair was slicked with sweat.

"I think we did good," Jace came up and slapped him across his shoulder blades once, then twice, forcing more air out of Alec's battered lungs. It didn't help that he had a fairly large bruise on the side of his ribs from William, where all the pain seemed to be radiating towards. "Hey are you okay?"

"Yeah I'll be fine, just give me a second to catch my breath." He forced himself to stand up straight, wincing only for a fraction of a second as pain shot across his ribcage. "Is Izzy picking us up?"

"Yeah, I think I see the Jeep right over there," Jace pointed to the school's parking lot, a little ways away from the soccer field. They began to walk over to Pangborn who was crowding all the guys together, he informed them that they would go through another day of games and trials in the following week, with a friend of his, who was also a scout, named Blackwell coaching as well. Alec prayed that Blackwell was at least a bit more laid back than Pangborn seemed to be.

After that, Jace and Alec began to walk towards the parking lot, their bags slung over their shoulders. "Are we going to tell Izzy?" Jace whispered, as if anyone around them had exponential hearing.

"Tell her what?" Alec asked, raising his left eyebrow.

"About that AnnaMarie chick," he replied bitterly, like the taste of her name on his tongue was like eating grapefruit. "Do you think dad will tell Izzy, or should we?"

"No, let dad tell her. I don't want to be the one to drop that on her." Alec shook his head feverishly, washing away the images of Isabelle's face falling, and her dark eyes crumbling before him.

"Hey! Hurry up, I'm going out with Meliron soon and I need to get home and get ready!" Isabelle screamed, leaning against the front of the Jeep, although they had come close enough to hear her perfectly fine if she just shouted lightly—even though _'shouting lightly'_ didn't seem quite possible...

"Who the hell is Meliron?" Jace growled and opened the back door of the Jeep, shoving his and Alec's bags into the back seat before sliding in. Alec got in the passenger seat at the same time that Isabelle took the drivers spot.

"He's a ballet dancer at a studio in Idris." She beamed, her smile lighting up her pretty, porcelain pale, face. "I was hanging out with Camille today, and she introduced us—"

"He's one of those faerie dancers?" Jace scoffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"There's nothing wrong with guys doing ballet. I, for one, think it is completely sexy," Alec cringed at that word leaving his sisters lips, in respect to the new guy that she liked. "And honestly, I don't care about your opinion Jace."

"What happened to Simon? Haven't you two have been getting pretty close?" Alec gave his imput and instantly regretted it when Isabelle turned her blazing eyes on him. "Or... Nevermind." Isabelle continued to stare daggers at him and Alec had a hard time dropping her steely gaze. "Oh... Hey... Look at the time. You had to get home to get ready right?"

"Mark my words Alexander Gideon Lightwood, if you ever insinuate that there is something going on with Lewis and I, I'll ring your throat." Isabelle offered a fake smile and began to pull out of the parking lot. Alec shook his head at the thought that Isabelle was so much like their mother, and hated acknowledging that. "And just for the record, he wouldn't be able to handle all of this." She pointed her glossed finger at herself.

Jace laughed from the back seat. "You've got that right."

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><p><strong>AN: **You all have the right to be mad at me! It's been too long hasn't it? I know that by saying school has completely gotten in the way is just an excuse, but I feel as if for those who want answers... Well there it is. I hate school, don't you? But this is my last year, and I can't afford to flunk any of my courses! Sorry though, for not paying more attention to my writing. Have you guys ever read the book 'The Kite Runner'? I'm about halfway through and this book has made me cry a dozen times. It's so beautiful, and if you love 'The Book Thief' (which is my all time favorite book) you'll love The Kite Runner, because they have slightly similar writing styles (at least in my opinion they do :P). I hope you liked this chapter! I needed to get Isabelle back in there, a little bit of Malec, and his soccer; because this story isn't only about Malec, I mean, the main focus is obviously Malec but I guess I'm just trying to create the most real story that I can.

I wanted to ask you guys something and I would love if you would answer in a review :)! Where are you from? (I'm Canadian, by the way!)

If we can get it to 770 reviews, I will post the next chapter in two days time!

Review pretty, pretty please?

**Amber, **


	44. I Found a Boy

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER FORTY THREE**

_**I Found a Boy** _

_"I fall short each time, Every time he ain't here. You and your charm creep closer, closer and then, like a fool for fire I fall,  
>with my pride and all! Like a bomb before explosion, ticking by your calm. You're the wiser one,<br>disguised from greed. And I'm just a child who belongs on her knees.  
>But I found a boy who I love more, Than I ever did you before,<br>So stand beside the river I cried,  
>And let yourself down!<em>_"  
>-Adele<em>

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><p>The rest of the week passed by in a hazy blur, to Alec. It was a constant routine of waking up in the morning with a sweat soaked back—because for some reason the blinding nightmares of his past were being rehashed, tainting his dreams—then, to showering and having Jace or Isabelle drive him to school, because certainly there was no way he would ever get behind a steering wheel. Once he got to school he was met by Magnus, and sometimes James, at the front door, then at some point during the day Magnus and Alec would find a flash of a moment alone together and sneak a quick kiss and grope, if they got lucky. The only downfall to that, though, was that it left Alec completely insatiable.<p>

He also had to endure and work through his classes; haphazardly falling asleep in English, because he had read everything and anything that was on the course syllabus ; failing to see the point in going to Math when he had someone like William staring at him as if he were the next plague; then there was Biology—which could turn out to be his greatest downfall. Having a partner like Magnus, given the circumstances, was a heavenly situation at best, but a hellish one at that too.

Alec made the mistake of slipping out a throaty groan when Magnus' hands went wandering underneath their lab table, running across the prominent bulge in his pants, Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Starkweather mistook his groan as him being thoroughly upset with the work that he had just assigned the class to do, and Alec blushed an unfaithful red when the whole class turned to look at him. And of course, Magnus sat there with his head down on the black table top, his shoulders shaking frantically as he attempted to hold in his laughter.

At the end of each day, once he returned home, Alec was met by his father—who was still a little wary around him, but it wasn't something to be upset over—and rarely his mother, Maryse. She had started to take on a bigger work load, staying longer hours at the Bane estate as well as the Morgenstern's. It didn't necessarily upset Alec, he knew his mother wanted and needed this job, and he wasn't going to let his own wayward petty thoughts get in the way of her pursuing her goals in life.

Then finally, as if it were a simple thought that seemed to allude Alec's mind throughout the days, in the midst of it all he would sleep—falling into a slumber to either the sound of Magnus' voice over the phone, or the image of his cat eyes splashed across the inside of his eyelids. But lately, he had woken up in a cold sweat that shook his body to the point that he wanted to retch all over the floor. It was the same nightmare, or memory, that manipulated his dreams when he was fourteen and it had been three years since the nightmares had stopped.

_Glasses sat crookedly on the bridge of _his_ small nose, an innocent, delicate, image, and then all of a sudden a bright white light pierced Alec's vision from his right side—everything went black. Then he heard them, the screams that is. Screams that were so foreign sounding and distorted; hands reaching out to him, contorting his limbs, poking his fragile skin, placing immense amounts of pressure right beneath his ribs over and over again..._

That was the reoccurring images and sensations that flashed through his mind at night, and disrupted his sleep. His muscles shook violently, his cheeks were stained with hot tears, and he had the undeniable need to climb into bed with Isabelle. But he stopped himself from doing so; he had to face his personal demons on his own. He just wished that they refrained from returning at the present moment.

These weren't the most glamorous days for Alec, but they were a sort of prelude to the weekend that was to come.

It was Friday now, and Alec was nestled in the backseat of James' car with his black, fully packed, bag resting on his lap and a girl—whom he didn't know—with beautiful curls of golden-brown hair. Truly, in Alec's opinion, she would have been gorgeous, had it not been for the layers of glittery make-up packed on to her doll-like face. Her eyes were a somber hazel that could have been mistaken for yellow. She had a pretty slope to her nose, resulting in a button shape at the end and her teeth gleamed a pearly white hue. She was thin but curvaceous at the same time, in all the right places. It startled Alec sometimes to think that when he analyzed girls—not in a daunting critical way—he didn't feel any type of attraction towards them. In all reality he had been looking at guys the same way that most other boys were looking at girls ever since his young adolescent years.

"Oh gosh, do you know what I forgot to do?" James said from the driver's seat. He had one hand gripped tightly on the steering wheel, and the other rested in Tessa's hand, their fingers intertwined on the armrest between them. His silvery hair bounced light around the small interior of his vintage car, blinding Alec at some points for short periods of time.

All around them was secluded forest, lining the shallow lanes of the highway they were on. Thick, towering evergreens with the hint of poplar trees, sticking out among the greenery, were the more prominent trees that Alec could identify as they continued to drive. The sky was a pale clear blue, endless and unwavering. And that sun, was it ever high and warm that day, especially for the time of year when the sun tended to set closer to the early evening.

"I didn't do any of the introductions before we left," James caught Alec's eyes in the rearview mirror; he smiled and Alec timidly returned the gesture. James had been acting as if he knew something that others did not; as if he were in on some type of secret with Alec, that Alec had no idea about. For the most part Alec shrugged it off, not thinking that it could pose as some type of problem. But then thoughts began to creep into his mind that James might know about Alec and Magnus, and those thoughts scared him to no end. He wasn't ready to make their relationship public, with the exception of Sarah and Isabelle.

"Alec this is Willow. Willow, this is Alec." Willow turned to Alec then, and held out her hand for him to shake.

"Hi, It's _so_ nice to meet you. Jem here kindly let me ride with them because my car wasn't working this morning—"

"And because Magnus wouldn't take you." Tessa scoffed from the front seat, and at the mention of Magnus, Alec become highly alerted. Willow shot the back of Tessa's seat an insolent glare, and then returned her focus back to Alec.

"I hope you don't mind my bags." She gestured to the floor of the back seat where bags were forcefully cramped into every space available, leaving Alec with little to no room to stretch out his legs and feet in James little vintage car. His right calf muscle had cramped up at least two times during the duration of the trip, thus far, but he knew better than to complain.

"No... Don't worry. It's fine. I don't really need much room anyways." Alec shrugged and titled his head more so to the left so he could glance out of the window.

"So..." she drawled, playfully, swinging a few curls behind her bare shoulder. "Who gives you the hardest time? With you being new and all."

"Oh uhm—" Alec tried to answer, but she quickly cut him off and offered up her own speculations, much to his dismay.

"I bet it's Magnus. He doesn't exactly warm up to new people that often. You're the kind of guy that he would eat for dinner, being that you're really quiet and all." She nodded her head, as if solidifying her observations in her mind.

"Are you and Magnus good friends?" Alec asked a bit rudely, not entirely liking the conversation with this supposed, _Willow. _He couldn't help notice the subtle hint of affection behind her words, as if she were talking on the behalf of a lover, showing that she knows exactly how said person would react to certain things.

She began to laugh, and placed her hand onto his shoulder, her body heat seeped through the thick fabric of his dark grey t-shirt. "Good friends? No, we're more than good friends. _Much_ more." She whispered and winked... _Winked, _at him, and instantly Alec saw red. But it wasn't his place to see red, at least not in the presence of everyone else. He reigned in his emotions and calmed down enough to continue talking to her.

"What do you mean by, _much more_?" He questioned, hoping the tone of his voice didn't contain his apparent jealousy and anger.

"Oh c'mon. Don't play dumb. He's my boyfriend. We haven't been able to see each other often since the beginning of school though, seeing as I go to a different Academy." Alec almost choked on the puffed out air in his lungs, and coughed strongly, raising his fist to his lips. _Her boyfriend?_

"Willow, you know that is simply not true." James shook his head exasperated and unclasped his hand from Tessa's to bring his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Alec, she isn't his girlfriend, actually she's his _ex_girlfriend." James indicated, and Alec let out a long, deep, breath of air that he had bottled up. "And besides, Magnus has moved on to a better relationship Willow. One which he's happy with." For a flash of a second James caught Alec's eyes once again in the rearview mirror, silver meeting blue, but he looked away too fast for it to mean anything... Or at least that is what Alec tried to tell himself.

"Oh really? Who is she?" Willow crossed her arms across her chest haughtily, squaring her features and narrowing her yellow-hazel eyes.

"I don't know." James shrugged his shoulders thoughtfully. "But whoever it is, is _definitely _the person Magnus should be with." Alec smiled, but then quickly neutralized his face, feigning indifference. Willow stopped talking after that and didn't turn to Alec anymore throughout the car ride or engage in any other conversations. For the most part, Alec was happy that this girl was put in her place about _his _boyfriend by James, but then there was the sinking feeling that Magnus had forgotten to mention that an ex-girlfriend of his was coming along to James' cabin.

He then began to think about William and Magnus being completely alone for the long ride to the cabin. He didn't like to dwell on the fact that, that could have been him sitting beside Magnus in his car, possibly taking some rest stops on the side of the highway for half an hour or so... But Magnus needed to talk to William about something that he had no idea about, and he took it as a sort of punishment for not telling Magnus about the fight.

Jace's jeep came up beside James' car, and surpassed them. Jace was in the drivers seat, certainly getting a kick out of the thrill of driving at high speeds, with Isabelle in the passenger seat and Simon and Clary in the back. To say that, that was probably the most awkward car ride would be an understatement. Clary and Jace were still not on good speaking terms, and no one except for Alec and supposedly Magnus, knew the reason why. And then there was Simon and Isabelle, a relationship that confused Alec to no end.

Simon was over at their house for the majority of the week, for no other reason than to see Isabelle and quickly talk to Alec and Jace. Everytime Alec would confront Isabelle about Simon she would become extremely defensive and claim that Simon and her would never work. He couldn't understand it though, because the way they looked at each other was hopefully the way Magnus and him looked at one another. It was an expression filled with intense feeling, and also the sense that one held the other above everyone else.

But, in Isabelle's words and actions, she was dating Meliron, who turned out to be an insensitive guy who got on Alec's last nerves, after only being around him twice.

Alec shook his head quickly, he was getting way to lost within his own thoughts for the majority of the day, and he needed to stop at some point. He decided to pick up a conversation with Tessa about surfing, and to his surprise, after deviating from the topic, he learnt that Tessa loved classic books, such as _Withering Heights _and _A Tale of Two Cities. _It was a nice escape from his perpetual mind, and just as the sun was cascading across the horizon they had arrived at the cabin, just behind Jace's Jeep.

Sebastian pulled up behind James' car, just as they were getting all of their bags out; his car holding Camille and Johnathan in the back seat. "Where's Magnus and Will?" Clary asked, as she jumped down from the high-rise of the Jeep. Alec watched as Jace externally flinched, watching Clary's tiny body fall to the pavement without his help—his jaw was tense, and his golden eyes were blazing with a mixture of despair and sadness, but he still made no move to help her.

"Who knows, who cares!" Sebastian called back, and ran towards the cabin that Alec had yet to take in properly.

It knocked the wind out of Alec's lungs, and he swore he heard a collective sigh from both Isabelle and Jace. It was reminiscent of a ski lodge Alec's family had went to in Aspen a couple of years back; completed with the high vaulted shingled roof. The whole front of the house was made out of waxy windows that showed only a peek of what was waiting inside, and there was a large porch with a long overhang, that wrapped around the cabin. The door was made out of a different glass however; almost like crystal, bouncing fragments of light around. The cabin was made of pale wood, and the roof was a range of light and dark rustic red shingles. It definitely was a more modern cabin than Alec was used to. On the left side of the cabin, the lake laid closely to the base of the house; so close that Alec bet that the cabin was supported by pillars on the back side, as the lake water ran underneath.

The lake stretched fairly far, but not as far as the one that Magnus had brought Alec to. This one seemed much more private, man-made. There were trees nestled around the whole entire property, and on the far bank of the lake; it really was a beautiful sight to see.

The sun bathed the sky in orange and red undertones, coloring the fresh blue lake water deep purple. They all had their bags released from the confines of the cars and were now standing around on the porch attempting to figure out the room situations. "Sebastian and I can go together," Camille stated, grasping his arm forcefully beneath her pristine fingers. She was clad in skin-tight yoga pants and a white tank top that showed off her midriff; it was probably the most clothing Alec had seen her wear since he met her.

"Tessa and I are going together, but you all already knew that." James smirked and laced his arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to his. "That leaves six rooms for the rest of you to grapple over. Three of them are singles." Alec saw Clary nudge Simon harshly in the ribs, and he let out a whoosh of air.

"Ouch." He rubbed his side. "I'll go with Clary in one of the doubles," he threw her an angry look and squinted his eyes at her from behind his glasses. Clary looked at him thankfully, and then adverted her eyes down to the porch wood beneath them. It was so weird seeing Clary acting so submissively as opposed to how she acted when Alec first met her. But then again, Alec couldn't really blame her, given the situation that she was in at the moment.

"I guess it's me and you Izzy." Jace said, and Alec rolled his eyes. Of course, he was going to be left out of that. Then, for a fleeting moment, he felt as if it were a simple thought in Jace's head that popped up; a sort of plan that if Simon and Clary were going to be in the other doubles room, possibly he could switch out with Simon at some point in the trip to reconcile with Clary. Sneaky, but cunning and most likely not going to happen.

"Is all the fun happening already, without us?" The hairs on the back of Alec's neck prickled at the sound of Magnus' voice, he felt heat crawl up his neck, and tried to calm his nerves so that no one would notice the way his cheeks flamed with color.

"I think Magnus and I will be taking the other doubles room," Willow had made her way over to Magnus who was standing on the second landing step that led up to the porch, and slid her hand into the back pocket of his jeans, gripping his butt. Magnus paled and locked eyes with Alec, his eyebrows furrowed together almost painfully.

"How about... No." Magnus grabbed a hold of her wrist and pried her hand out of his pocket, setting it back down at her side before he pushed her away. That girl had no shame. "I want a single."

"Me too," Alec added, quietly, his eyes smoldering.

"I believe the expression is me three?" William inquired as he brought up a couple of bags in his large hands, setting them down beside the door.

"Well then we're done, Johnathan and Willow can have the last double," James nodded his head, and everyone agreed in consensus, besides Willow who was a bit too forlorn about not being able to sleep in the same room as Magnus. Not that Alec would ever let that happen in the first place.

They all entered the house and Alec marvelled at the architecture of the place. There was a huge thick staircase off to the left side of the space—made entirely out of oak wood—connected to a loft sitting room at the top. Alec could see that the loft acted as a sort of gathering place and hallway for all of the rooms that were connected around the space. He could see the tops of mahogany doors that he guessed separated each room around the loft zone. Medium sized chandeliers hung from the ceiling, strategically placed.

To the front right of the room the floor was dug in, there was a large sitting area two steps down and a humongous fire-place that reached high up to the ornate trimmings of the ceiling. There were low long white couches situated around a dark wood table, and piles upon piles of pillows at the base of the fireplace. The walls were a rich creamy brown color, with electric indigo accent picture frames around the room housing black and white photographs of different civil engineering projects. The ceiling was a beautiful network of long cherry wood beams that stretched the length of the house horizontally and vertically. To the back of the house, and underneath the loft Alec could make out the beginnings of, what he assumed to be, an enormous kitchen that overlooked a huge acre of land. It was half hidden behind a pale divider with Chinese symbols strewn across it, to separate the rooms.

Everyone placed their bags at the front door and once they were all inside they instantly dispersed, most going to the living room to sit down and relax after the long drive, and the rest going into the kitchen, except for Magnus and Alec. They smiled at each other, not all too sure what the weekend would bring them, but hoping that they could keep their relationship from the prying eyes of the others.

"Do you want to head upstairs? I can show you to the room you'll probably have." Magnus suggested, somehow teasing Alec with his blazing eyes. He looked good, more than good, with brown pants on, rolled up at his ankles and a colorful tribal pattern sweater on that had a grey background. His hair was flipped up and to the side, but this time it had no glitter lacing the tips. He must have went home to change before he and William left to make their trip out to the lake.

"Absolutely," Alec answered and picked up his bag before making his way up the thick stairs. Once they made it to the top Magnus tilted his head to the right and gestured towards one of the mahogany doors. He opened it and waited outside the door for Alec to step in, it was a fairly sized room with a double bed in the middle, adorned with a white comforter and pale blue striped pillows. There were two sky lights slanted overhead the bed, letting in the subtle remainder of light from the setting sun.

There was also a long black couch along the left wall of the room, beside a small bookshelf, and on the opposite side there was a brown dresser and a doorway leading into an en suite bathroom. Alec set his bag down on the bed and turned back to face Magnus who was leaning against the door frame. "Do you know what I always loved about these rooms?"

"What?" Alec questioned as he beckoned Magnus into the room. Magnus closed the door quietly behind him, making sure that there was only a subtle click of the door closing.

"The walls are basically sound proof," he winked, speaking huskily. Alec closed the space between them and feverishly grabbed a hold of Magnus' backside, shoving his hands into both of the back pockets. He gave Magnus a rough squeeze, against his own accord, he was being rash in his decisions. Alec crashed their lips together, instantly slipping his tongue through the parting of Magnus' lips, taking him by surprise.

But, obviously, Magnus didn't complain about the hasty attention and pushed Alec back a bit until they fell upon the bed, lips still clashing together. Magnus threaded his fingers into Alec's disorderly hair as Alec began to lift his hips off of the bed in intervals, rubbing himself against Magnus. They were a tangled mess of muted moans, and Alec was loving every second of it, having Magnus' body so close to his. He started to tug on Magnus' jeans, without even fully realizing it, and Magnus pulled back from the heavy kissing.

"What has gotten into you?" Magnus questioned, and added quickly, "not that I'm complaining."

"I—I don't know. I think... Ugh, I don't want to tell you." Alec sighed and raised one of his hands to rest against his eyes, shielding them from Magnus. "It's just that... Willow, she was talking about you on the way here, and she made it sound as if you two were dating. And then she just grabbed you when you showed up and I—"

"You got jealous didn't you?" Alec could hear the smile in Magnus' voice. Magnus pried Alec's fingers open, and stared down at him with a fox grin on his face. Alec blushed beet red, because that is exactly what had happened. He didn't like that someone else was staking claim on what was his—not that Magnus was something that could be _'claimed'. _He wasn't a possession, but Alec liked the idea that Magnus was his in the emotional and physical aspects of a relationship. Magnus leaned down a pecked Alec on the lips twice. "That's very flattering lovely," he damn near purred, "but you don't have anything to be jealous of. She's just a girlfriend from the past."

"I know that," Alec smiled sheepishly and connected their lips together again, deepening it a second later. Magnus sighed into his mouth and ran his hands down Alec's torso, stopping at the hem of his shirt running his hands underneath, so that he could dance his finger tips across the heated skin of Alec's chest, while Alec returned his hand to Magnus' butt and pulled his groin down on top of Alec's. They slowly worked up a rhythm against each other, grunting every round of the rise and fall against each other. Magnus started to make circular motions with his hips, eliciting a newer, stronger sensation to resonate throughout Alec's body. He grunted harshly at feeling Magnus' bulge against his own.

Alec moved his lips down Magnus' jaw, and nipped lightly at the skin just underneath his jaw line. "Yes, oh god, yes," Magnus breathed out in a rush, as he picked up the pace and pressure he was setting against Alec. Alec whimpered at the new added pressure and bit down on the throbbing pulse point on Magnus' neck. "Shit, do that again." Magnus said huskily, and groaned loudly when Alec obliged and bit him a bit harder.

"Magnus I'm going to—" Alec stuttered as his breathing rapidly picked up, he could feel himself nearing the edge of ecstasy and he wasn't sure that it would be a smart thing to fall off the side. "We need to—" he grunted. "—Stop before I—" Magnus was relentless in stopping and before Alec could detour anything from happening, all the pent-up arousal broke forth and he bit down on his bottom lip sharply to keep from crying out. Magnus buried his head into Alec's shirt mere moments later and the vibrations of his moans tickled Alec's torso as Magnus reached his peak as well.

Magnus rolled off of Alec and laid down beside him on the bed; they were both frantically trying to catch their breath, their chests rose and crashed down erratically. "That was—" Alec started.

"Amazing." Magnus finished, and then they both laughed; or more so Alec giggled and Magnus gave a throaty laugh, mainly because Alec was on a high from the orgasm he had just had.

"Alec? Are you in there?" Isabelle called from the other side of the door, knocking on the wood. Alec was glad to notice that her voice sounded extremely muted on the other side of the door.

"Yes Izzy, you can come in." Magnus called out, and Alec glared at him. He was in a less than orderly state to talk to his sister.

"Oh thank gosh you two are decent." Isabelle breathed a sigh of relief as she came into the room and shut the door. "Jace and Will were wondering where you two went. What should I tell them?" She snaked her pale arms over her chest and cocked her hip out to the side.

"We'll be down in a second, you don't have to tell them anything." Alec sat up on the bed and then pulled his bag to himself so he could search for a new pair of boxers.

"Oh? You two don't want to finish what you're up to in here?" She smirked deviously, her dark eyes lighting up with mirth.

"On the contraire sweets, we've already _finished._" Magnus winked and folded his hands behind his head.

"Magnus!" Alec snarled and stood up from the bed placing his hands on Isabelle's shoulders. "Please go before he embarrasses me further. We'll be done soon." Alec pleaded.

"Okay, but hurry up. Jem is going to crack out a bottle Saxum wine soon and get the fireplace going." Isabelle informed him, as he felt Magnus' arms wrap around his waist pulling him back a bit. Magnus placed his chin on Alec's shoulder and nipped at his ear.

"We just need a moment to... Change." Magnus stated, to Alec's mortification. Isabelle's eyes widened slightly and knowingly.

"I didn't need to know that, but I guess it's nice to know that my brother is finally leading a healthy sex life!" She smiled widely and made her way to the door of the room, leaving in a rush. Magnus laughed lowly in Alec's ear, and continued to caress his ear lobe with his tongue and teeth.

"Magnus, we need to change." Alec sighed, on two accounts: the first being that he was mortified that his sister knew a little too much about his sexual life, and the second being that he loved the attention, that Magnus was paying, on his earlobe.

"How about another round, instead, lovely?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I got so carried away with this chapter, holy moly. Usually my first drafts tend to be in the three thousand word range, but this one ended up being so close to five thousand words, and I stayed up until two a.m. slaving away at it, so I could get it finished and ready to go today (: I hope you liked it, since it is the first lake chapter and all. There are many more to come, and can I just say I love jealous Alec? Honestly, in City of Fallen Angels when he went on his little rampage against Magnus I just about swooned because this boy is just too great. So, Alec met Willow, do you guys still dislike her? (Because I kind of _really _dislike her. But if you do like her, then cool!) Oh Jem, what am I going to do with you? He's too cute isn't he? And absolutely not being subtle at all... Also, let's just say that there is a three chapter countdown to the ultimate smut (even though there will be more after it), I guess it's more of the 'Kick off to the ultimate smut'. WOW sorry I can't keep my thoughts straight right now, it's like 2:42 a.m. and I am watching Dragon Ball Z (favorite anime) and reading this book called Sweet Evil. (Multi-tasking woohoo!)

Don't mind me my wayward son! Please review, and yenno tell me if you guys do want sexy times or not. It's up to you guys really! If we can get to 830 reviews, an update will be coming very soon!

Review pretty please :)?

**Amber,**


	45. Longevity

**First Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it! (No copyright intended, all characters belong to Cassandra Clare)**

**CASTLES MADE OF SAND, CHAPTER FORTY FOUR**

_**Longevity  
><strong>  
>"Harmonizing, with a, go softly face. Just like the old days. Golden seaplane, dollar, tossed in the take bin. What a bargain.<br>Time will bear the yellow knife, found oysters from the beach undressed from the waist.  
>My girl says that, all the rain promises is to give life in the moment.<br>Never count on longevity, please." -Yeasayer_

* * *

><p>"We are not doing that again," Alec poked his head around the bathroom door as he started to strip out of his jeans and boxer shorts. He blushed hotly, as he accidentally caught Magnus pulling up a new pair of briefs—causing Alec to see, only, the side view of his rounded tawny butt… A part of Magnus that Alec took delight in running his fingers over.<p>

Magnus caught Alec staring, and flashed him the signature fox grin that made Alec come undone. "But tonight…" Magnus trailed off, and raised his eyebrows suggestively; still only clad in a pair of briefs—that Alec quite intensely wanted to rip off—and his soft patterned sweater.

"It's already night," Alec sighed and shut the door to the bathroom and pulled on a fresh pair of fresh pair of black boxers, ones that weren't tainted by what he and Magnus had previously been doing on the bed; then hastily he pulled his favourite worn out dark wash jeans up his long thick legs. He exited the bathroom to find Magnus resting on his bed, his elbows stretched out slightly behind him, and his legs crossed at the knees.

"I'm talking about _later _tonight," Magnus explained. "When everyone's asleep… The house is silent… Except for those delicious whimpers of yours." He said rather seductively.

"I do not whimper," Alec scowled, folding his arm across his chest. Magnus threw his head back and bellowed a loud curt laugh.

"Yes you do," he rose from the bed and walked over to the door, grasping the silver knob in the palm of his hand. "And it's sexy as hell, Alexander." He winked… _Winked, _and left the room a moment later. Alec raised his hand to his cheeks, finding them to be inflamed with raw heat. He quickly ran to the bathroom, attached to his room, again, and splashed ice cold water onto his burning face.

What he desperately needed was a cold shower, but subsequently that notion would have to wait until later on; when he was no expected to be downstairs with everyone else.

As he made his way downstairs, he noticed everyone gathering in the sunken in living room space, making themselves comfortable around the large wooden table. James and Magnus walked in from the left carrying a handful of wine bottles, the color of deep plum nectar, and oddly a bottle that appeared to be empty. Behind them, Camille and Isabelle carried crystal clear wine glasses, which were large and rounded at the base; narrowing as they got to the rim.

Alec felt eyes on him and turned to find Jace eyeing him curiously with his thin pink lips puckered in suspicion. He glanced away, however, when he realized Alec was giving him an equally questioning look.

"Spin the bottle!" Camille shouted, shimmying her assets a bit too much. Alec paled when he took a seat next to Clary, who was on the exact opposite couch, as Jace.

"Uhm," Jace interjected, "There's two sets of siblings here. And like two couples…"

"So?" Camille set down the wine glasses and cocked her hip to the side. "Couples don't apply here, and if you get your sibling you get an extra spin."

"What if you don't want to kiss the person it, uh, lands o—on?" Alec seemingly stuttered out, twiddling his thumbs nervously in his lap. He didn't dare look towards Magnus, where he was sitting next to James and Tessa on the ground in front of the towering stone fireplace.

"Then you've got to strip down to your knickers right here, blue eyes, and run outside into the lake." Camille smiled brightly and let out a bubbly laugh, while Sebastian and Jace let out few cat calls. Alec instantly blushed, gulping back the embarrassment that he felt by Camille's words. "Now," she clapped her hands together, "let's get started—"

"Camille, one problem." Johnathan remarked quickly, almost cutting her off. "I'm not wearing anything under these." He pointed to his dark washed denim jeans. A few snickers were let out, mainly by the girls. Camille bit her full bottom lip—suggestively, in Alec's opinion—and merely shrugged her shoulders. Johnathan sighed, knowing he had the probability of zero to win in this situation.

"I'll go first," Camille stated after a lapsing silence that took over the group for a few seconds. She leaned over the low table, her ample breasts nearly spilled out of her rather racy dress; so much so that Alec could count freckles on her chest that he didn't necessarily want to see in the first place.

Her grip was loose on the bottle, and with a subtle flick of her wrist, the empty bottle began to spin lazily in a slow circle.

After a few turns the spinning came to a full stop on Jace. There was a flash of apprehension in his gaze; a small hint to the war that was going on within his mind. Alec was probably the only one to see the burning rage lacing Clary's deep emerald green eyes as Camille and Jace began to lean towards each other—meeting half way, with their eyes closed and their lips pressed together.

It only lasted for a few seconds, but yet at the same time: a beat too long. The resigned coldness disrupting Clary's beautiful face was the only thing Alec could focus on besides the heat of Magnus' gaze.

He could feel it; he could always feel it, and he silently prayed that Magnus would give up and stop with the incessant staring that made his heart collapse within his chest.

Jace was up next, and spun the bottle with a little bit more precision—it was a calculated spin that he ended up overshooting by a little bit too much. Instead of the bottle landing in the vicinity of where Clary was seated, it landed on the next person over: Simon. There was a chorus of laughter that followed as both boys' cheeks flamed a brilliant red.

It was over soon enough, a quick peck on the lips that both instantly started rubbing the back of their hands over—trying to rid their lips of the others presence. "I think we all need to see that one again!" Magnus boomed loudly; Jace and Simon sent glares his way. "What?" He held up a glass of wine and tipped it. "It seemed like you both enjoyed it."

"No… Just no." Simon held up his pointed finger in defiance. The smoldering fire in the large stone fireplace glittered off of Simon's glasses as he leaned forward to spin the bottle himself.

Alec chanced a glance at Magnus, and his breath caught in his throat. Magnus was staring back at him as if he were something to eat, something he would love to run his hands all over. Alec's breathing changed to long laboured breaths as Magnus darted his tongue out to lick the rim on his wine glass. He was teasing him to no end, absolutely delighting in the way that just the simple like around the rim was having a substantial effect on Alec.

All the while that Alec spent paying attention to Magnus, he didn't realize that the bottle had settled on Isabelle and that Simon and Isabelle were locked in a tightly knit embrace; everyone around them was cat calling and encouraging them to continue… In which they did.

It quickly escalated into a fiery passionate kiss involving, what looked like to Alec, a lot of tongue. He attempted to clear his throat loudly, hoping the intrusion of his sound would make them stop, but it was as if they were shut off from everyone else—lost within the kiss, within each other.

Jace slapped his hand down firmly on Simon's shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze; spurring Simon to open his eyes and retract from the kiss with Isabelle, as if it had burned him. Isabelle raised her right hand to her lips and stared into Simon's eyes briefly before she quickly looked away.

"That was a little…" Johnathan started.

"Intense." Sebastian finished with a smile, nudging Simon in the ribs. Simon shoved at his shoulder, and told him lowly to 'piss off', before he placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, resting his head within his hands. He threaded his fingers through his brown hair, in a rather stressful way, and kept his eyes cast down and away from the line of sight towards Isabelle.

Without another word, Isabelle spun the bottle next. It spun awkwardly on the surface of the table, stopping after a couple of seconds on James. There was a slight pink tint licking the apples of his cheeks as he leaned across the table and kissed Isabelle rather tenderly. They parted soon, and smiled lightly—it was really rather innocent and friendly. James sat back and leisurely flicked the bottle, watching it intently with his liquid silver eyes.

To Alec's surprise, it stopped on Magnus, and he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it. There was a little buzz of jealousy in the back of his mind, but it was too minuet to take into account.

Magnus bit his lip roughly in mock lust as he pulled James by the collar of his shirt and laid a fast and hard smacking kiss on his lips. They giggled like school children, while everyone around them hooted with laughter; even Alec cracked a smile after seeing his boyfriend lay a kiss on someone else—even if that someone was only James.

Once they both settled back into their spots, James cut his eyes sideways at Alec, as if gaging his reaction. Alec furrowed his brows and tilted his head in question towards James—wondering what the look he gave him was about. _He… He couldn't know_… Alec concluded in his head and began to worry his lip between his teeth. Could Magnus have already told James? Or did he just guess? How many of them knew about Magnus and Alec already?

Thoughts cycled around in is head rapidly, ad he almost didn't realize that everyone's eyes were on him, as if they were waiting for something…

"Huh?" He said, breaking out of his stupor.

"Give me your lips Alexander," Magnus chuckled, with a sly smile tainting his lush lips. Alec gulped loudly, his cheeks flared with red hot heat as the weight of what Magnus said washed through him.

"What?!" He shouted, clasping his hand against his mouth after he did.

"C'mon Alexander, are you really going to strip down to your briefs and run out into the lake, rather than kiss me?" Magnus wiggled his eyebrows teasingly and began to lean closer to Alec. Alec opened his mouth to protest, but before he could Magnus' lips were on his. Definitely familiar, and warm; this was as easy as breathing—however contrite that may sound—it was an involuntary reaction to Magnus that he had; as if he were falling and falling… The longer he kissed Magnus.

Magnus sucked Alec's bottom lip into his mouth and nipped lightly before he hastily pulled away. He wiped the back of his hand across his lips and gave Alec a secretive wink and smirk—almost like a promise that more would come later.

"That was extremely steamy." Camille didn't hesitate to say; neither did she hesitate in mock fanning herself. Alec blushed bright red and simply nodded his head. He looked around and caught the none-subtle-smirk that laced Isabelle's lips, and the decidedly confused expression on Jace's face; otherwise everyone was acting the same, well maybe except for Magnus who had a huge grin on his face.

Alec placed his fingers around the stem of the wine bottle, loving the smooth cold texture—which reminded him of Magnus' fingers—and flicked his wrist to the left, letting it spin around the circle of people a couple of times. It eventually landed on Camille, and a new cycle of spins began.

After an hour or two, the game was still going strong, although they tweaked the rules a bit more; nothing too crass, but nevertheless exciting and fun. Everyone was laughing and joking around, stuck in an alcohol induced haze, leaning on one another for support. Alec's stomach contracted strongly as a fresh wave of giggles bubbled up to his throat, after witnessing Johnathan refuse to lick the trail of hair at the bottom of Sebastian's abdomen, and consequently forced him to strip down to absolutely nothing and run out the front door, into the lake.

Johnathan's loud howls could be heard from inside the living room, and for some odd reason it spurred Sebastian, William, and Magnus to remove their clothing and run out to jump in after him. The girls scoffed at the boys antics and began to clean up the mess of now empty wine bottles and glasses from the living room area; moments later, they proceeded to head up to their rooms.

Jace and Simon helped Alec put out the fire, and Tessa came down the stairs carrying a handful of towels, placing them outside on the front porch railing for the others that were still outside in the freezing cold water. The light of the moon and the stars reflecting off of the dark water in an eerie light, bathing the boys in a waxy white light.

"Hey are you heading up soon?" Jace asked Alec, as he started to walk into the kitchen. Alec followed him back there, as he saw the boys coming in from the water from his peripheral vision.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so. I'm pretty tired." Alec shrugged, as Jace guzzled down a water bottle from the fridge quickly. Jace nodded and cast his eyes downward, knitting his eyebrows tightly together on his forehead. "Hey, Jace… Whatever's going on between you and Clary will… It will work itself out okay?"

"What if she is pregnant?" Jace whispered, so low that Alec almost didn't catch it. "I mean, yeah I'm scared, but I just wish she knew that I would support her…"

"Tell her that." Alec encourage, giving Jace a light-hearted smile.

"I shouldn't have to tell her that. She should already know." He scoffed under his breath. "What does that say about our relationship? It says that she has no faith in me Alec, no trust… I would give that girl the world, if should would let me." Jace rubbed his hand across his eyes in frustration and then quickly passed by Alec, out into the living room. "I'm too tired to talk about this right now. I'll see you in the morning." Jace sighed and headed up the stairs.

The rest of the boys were still standing on the porch, shaking off the water from their hair, and drying their bodies rapidly to get back inside the warm house. Sebastian and Johnathan darted up the stairs once they were sufficiently dry, slamming their bedroom doors once they got to the landing upstairs. Alec moved into the living room and made towards the stairs.

"Mmm, you should have come in with us. I love seeing that body of yours." Magnus whispered breathlessly into Alec's ear as he threw his arm around his shoulder. He kissed Alec's neck, sucking lightly at the heated skin there. Alec froze in shock and looked back at William who was still standing at the front door.

Thankfully he was turned away from witnessing Alec and Magnus; saving a lot of questions that were bound to come up, had William seen them. Alec pushed Magnus away from him, not wanting to chance William catching them in a rather… Friendly position. "Magnus, stop. Will's right out there…"

"So? Lovely, I don't care who knows about us. I don't want to have to use a game as an excuse to kiss you publically. I just want you Alexander, all the time."

"But I care who knows," Alec hesitated to say, but he knew he needed to say it nevertheless. Magnus stopped him at the top of the stairs, and looked intently into his eyes. Magnus' eyes were rimmed with a bit of red from either sleep deprivation, or the alcohol that he had consumed was still floating throughout his system. The yellow-green of his cat eyes were a muted tame hue.

"Okay," Magnus tilted his head once up then down, then up again. "I will wait as long as you need Alexander." Magnus raised his hand to Alec's face and swiped the pad of his thumb along the patch of skin directly above Alec's right eyebrow. "I will do anything for you." Magnus kissed his temple quickly and left him standing there on the top of the stairs.

Alec lay there awake in his designated bed. Sharp splatters of the light from the stars and moon were cast across the comforter of the bed, creating this ethereal glow to encase his room. It was colder than he had expected, causing his teeth to grind and chatter together. The short time he had spent at the cabin thus far was way beyond thrilling, once he began to really think about it—he felt entirely like he belonged in this group of friends, even with the different dynamics that came into play.

It had been an interesting first day to say the least, and he couldn't wait for what might come. But at the present moment, as he laid there watching the white patterns on his bed shift with the time... He couldn't stop is thoughts from drifting to Magnus, and more generally how he just wanted Magnus. He wanted _all _of Magnus and it quite literally burned him knowing Magnus was in a room just down the hall.

They had, had their moments together, sneaking a quick kiss in—here and there—but it didn't seem to satisfy all of Alec's livid desires. He looked over to his right, where an old make shift black clock indicated that the time was way into the night, nearing the three o'clock mark, and Alec still hadn't been able to get Magnus off of his mind.

Quite possibly he never would be able to. It seemed as if his mind always tended to wander to the thought of tawny smooth skin, bright yellow-green cat eyes, and lush pink lips. He couldn't handle it anymore; letting his mind slip away without relieving the problem he had on his lower section.

Alec trailed his hand under the comforter, lightly stroking himself through the thin material of his dark blue plaid cotton pajama pants. He began to pick up speed, letting his eyes slip shut at the sensation. Alec continued like that for a bit longer, his breath coming out in slow heated rasps against the bleak silence of the house. "Magnus," he let the name slip from his lips.

"I didn't think this could get any hotter—until you said my name." Alec froze and shot his eyes open regarding the direction of the voice. He looked towards the door to the room, and leaning against the door frame was a half-dressed Magnus Bane—his hair mused and stuck up in random places around his head.

To Alec he looked as if he had been having just as hard of a time as he had, at falling asleep. The cocky smirk on his angular face indicated to Alec that he might have been standing there watching him for quite some time. Alec blushed feverishly at the implication, and brought his hand up from underneath the cover regretfully. His whole body was on fire at being caught, especially since he let Magnus' name slip from his lips as well. "Oh, do go on. Don't think you have to stop since I showed up." Magnus teased, his smirk widening—turning into a full on devious fox grin.

"Uh..." Alec began, as he sat up against the headboard of the small twin bed. The blush was still prominent on his face, causing him to cringe. "I don't think I want to..."

"Well then, let me help you with that." Magnus pushed himself away from the door frame, and slowly eased the door shut. He sultrily sauntered his way over to the edge of Alec's bed and once he came up to the end, he climbed onto the high bed and continued to crawl towards Alec.

The whole time, Alec couldn't keep his eyes off of Magnus, their eyes stayed focused on one another's—both filled with a burning degree of lust and desire. Magnus had finally made his way to straddling Alec's hips, and captured his lips with his own—moving in fast chaste movements. Alec ran his hands around Magnus' sides and restlessly trailed his hands down to his butt, gripping it hard.

"Someone's eager." Magnus whispered against his lips, smiling as he did so. Truth be told, they had never gone any further than just groping one another, dry-humping and removing a few too many articles of clothing. But at the moment Alec was not scared in the least about what could happen, because all he knew was that this was Magnus, and he wanted everything with Magnus.

"Mmm," Alec groaned, tilting his head back slightly, letting Magnus gain access to his neck. Magnus began to suck on the Adam's apple of Alec's throat, emitting a strangled sigh from Alec's lips. "Only because of the things you do to me,"

"Rephrase that." Magnus said huskily, slipping his hands down and under Alec's shirt—lifting it carelessly over his head.

"W—what?" Alec had a hard time breathing.

"How about you say, because of the things I am_ going_ to do to you." Magnus purred as he licked a wet hot trail down Alec's chest, making him shiver at the sensation. Magnus leaned back on the balls of his feet so he was able to pull the comforter off of Alec, letting it fall haphazardly to the bottom of the small bed.

Alec gazed into Magnus' eyes with a small amount of fear—he was hopeful as to where this may have been leading to, but he couldn't shake the uncertainty of the situation, once Alec began to actually think of it. They were in a cabin full of their friends—was it likely for one of them to be awake at this time of night?

Magnus' eyes were livid and burning, the pupils had completely dilated to a harsh brooding black color, and a small smirk played at his lips. Alec bit his lip involuntarily as pure heat crawled up his neck and settled on the apples of his cheeks.

He took pleasure in watching Magnus' eyes slip close for a moment, before Magnus practically lunged forward at Alec, again capturing Alec's lips against his own. He bit down lightly on the bottom of Alec's lip, and snaked his tongue into Alec's mouth—swirling it around in feverish movements, running it along the roof of Alec's mouth.

What caught Alec off guard was that during their heated moment of making out, Magnus had trailed his hand up and along Alec's inner thigh and then finally settled his hand against Alec's groin, palming it through the thin material of his pajama pants.

"Magnus," Alec whimpered against his lips. The feeling of Magnus' hand against him—rubbing him—teasing him—was a pure blissful haven to Alec, one which he never wanted to part with.

Sure they had been together for a few weeks, but for the love of god, Alec didn't understand how he could have held back from this for so long. "Oh—gosh, don't stop." Alec hissed, throwing his head back sharply at the sensation; his head connected harshly with the head board.

"Alexander, can you promise me something?" Magnus gazed up into his eyes, his hand halting in movement, but still firmly grasping a hold of Alec.

"What?" Alec said breathlessly, his chest rising and falling in uneven patterns.

"Promise me, you won't scream too loud, lovely." Magnus replied with a cocky glint in his eyes. Alec searched his eyes quizzically, wondering exactly what Magnus was eluding to, but his mind was coming up blank. He nodded his head for good measure, and before he could comprehend what exactly Magnus was up to, he felt his pajama pants being roughly pulled from his lower body.

Alec sucked air into his lungs harshly and flushed fire cracker red; he was exposed to Magnus, and he didn't necessarily know how to feel about the situation. Fortunately, all thoughts were stripped away from Alec's mind as Magnus leaned forward and licked the tip of Alec's cock, causing Alec to let out a low deep groan.

Magnus took the head into his mouth, sucking gently, before lowering his head down the length of Alec. Alec's eyes rolled to the back of his head as his breath caught in his chest. After a few seconds, Alec looked down at Magnus—who was bobbing his head up and down Alec's cock, driving him absolutely insane. The inside of Magnus mouth was scorching hot around him, and the way Magnus hollowed out his cheeks created this tight exhilarating sensation.

"Oh shit—" Alec groaned, when Magnus lifted his eyes to meet Alec's, and he gave him a seductive wink. Magnus wrapped his left hand around the base of Alec's member, and began to stroke in time with the bobs of his head. With his free hand, he grabbed a hold of Alec's left hand, and placed it on top of his head.

Without even registering what he was doing, Alec began to thread his fingers into Magnus' hair, and started to guide Magnus' head around his cock—not harshly. Alec could feel a coil in his stomach; a tightening of his muscles as his hips buckled off of the bed against Magnus' face. Magnus held his hips down, and then did something that absolutely threw Alec over the edge: he began to hum, and the sensation was like nothing Alec had ever felt before. "Yes... Yes! Yes!" The word became a mantra to Alec; who was trying to tone down the loudness of his voice.

Alec swallowed down a hearty moan as Magnus' tongue swept along the throbbing vein, on the underside of his cock. Once he got to the top, he spent a fair amount of time sucking on the heated head, lazily darting his tongue out to swirl around the tip.

His hips were now uncontrollably flexing off of the bed, meeting Magnus' strokes. And by this point, Alec was quietly whimpering while sweat coated his skin. The scales tipped in favour of pleasure, finally, and Alec saw tars burst at the corners of his vision as he let go of his pent up arousal deep within Magnus' mouth. His back arched off of the bed, and his toes curled deliciously.

Magnus stilled, but kept his mouth around Alec until the waves of his pleasure were over. This was the most intimate they had been and it nearly made Alec cry out in happiness. Not just because of the act that Magnus had just performed on him, but because of the silent meaning behind it for the both of them, in different ways.

Magnus accepted Alec fully for who he was; mind, values, logic quirks, and now his body. He cherished Alec so very tenderly within those moments, giving him a sense of satisfaction as well as to feel wanted.

And in the same way, Alec was silently voicing the fact that he trusted Magnus with his body—his heart even. Although that thought struck fear within Alec: the idea that Magnus had his heart sent a warmth throughout his body, as if the idea bleed through his skin without any barrier. That alone was a hard concept to fully accept.

Magnus came to rest beside Alec's body, by the headboard, half resting on the bed and half on the side of Alec's satiated body; pulling the comforter up around them. "I told you, you whimper." Magnus smiled as he stroked the pad of his thumb across the patch of skin above Alec's eyebrow. Alec let out a sort of giggle-snort to his comment and kissed him fully on the lips, smiling into the kiss brightly. He flipped himself over onto Magnus and began to pepper kisses all over his face. "Thank you, for that—you didn't have to do that you know." Alec raised himself on to his elbows to peer down at Magnus, searching his eyes.

"Alexander," Magnus palmed his cheek, his cold fingers bit into Alec's searing hot flesh. "Trust me when I say: I wanted to do that for you." Alec smiled.

"Well then trust me when I tell you later that I wanted to do this for you." And with that, Alec slid underneath the comforter, pulling down Magnus' sleep pants along the way.

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><p><strong>AN: **Oh look! An update! (I'm attempting to be cheery, considering the fact that I know a lot of you must hate me by now...) I owe you guys another chapter, soon, and I will not fail when I say that it should be up within the next two weeks! (I am leaving for Europe on Wednesday, and will not have wifi, so this is the reason for the delay of sorts). Should I explain myself, or should I not? That is the question... During the past few months I have been writing Diploma exams. I don't know if that is only a Canadian thing, but I guess it is equivalent to A-levels or SAT examinations? I have written so many essays that I have lost count, and I studied from dusk till dawn for my Chemistry 30 diploma, and I rocked it :) I tried hard to focus on this chapter, throughout this time, but I simply couldn't. I needed my grades, that is my first priority, and I'm so excited to say that after I received my final grades for the first semester, I have been accepted into the Bachelor of Nursing for university! (Now I have to keep my grades at an 80% average, and I'm good to go...) So, I hope you liked this chapter, feed back is always wanted! Keep in mind that the ultimate smut countdown is still ticking away...

Please review!

**Amber,**


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